The Near Premature Death

I nearly died once.
Youth and innocence prohibits dwelling over such traumatic ordeals.
Questioning my own mortality permits me now to ponder the near misses.
It's summertime, school is out and the backyard pool is my refuge from the
hot, sunny day.
I don't swim well and diving boards scare me.
I keep to the shallow end, for the deep end swallows the timid.
To stimulate my childish exuberance I take to jumping and spinning
into the refreshing chlorine-soaked waters.
There are two other people with me, a young girl and her mother.
My mom never allowed me into the pool without adult supervision.
I knew better than to break that rule.
Like a dolphin jumping in and out of the ocean with playful ease,
I soar as high as I possibly can and twist in mid-air like a water spout
off Florida Bay before descending.
As the strong waves violently crash on shore against the jagged rocks, my head
strikes the unforgiving cement.
My world goes black, time ceases to exist until waking a far distance from my
point of impact.
I awaken, floating in a daze under water in the deep end, waiting to be swallowed whole.
I often wonder how close I came to drowning before I was saved by the
mother's helping hand, reaching into the water from the heavens above.
I am sure I gave it no second thought then before jumping back in.
That's what kids do, right?
I have never properly thanked her for sparing me that day.
I must do so now through sincere words since she is no longer with us.
Dear Miss, I am grateful to you for swooping in to rescue me from harm that
fateful day. For this I am truly obliged.
These days I envision my friend, the hawk, performing this same selfless deed
on an innocent fish swimming along in the Mullica River.
Of course, I do not envy that fish's fate and doubt the hawk would take pity on him.
As for myself, I consider myself one of the lucky and fortunate ones.
Though, I'd still rather be the hawk, for the waters still scare me a bit to this day.