Jim Hendrickson Poet Rhyme

Why Am I Here

Why   Am  I  Here?

  I  went  for  a  swim,  just  barely  18,
  Trying  to  ride  waves  like  I'd  never   seen.
  Youth   seems  eternal,  and  I  went  without  fins
  Against  such  power,  no  human  being   wins.

  Water   walls  rushing  at  me  ten  feet  high,
  Try  jumping  over, leaping  for  the  sky.
   Cannot  touch  bottom  as  I'm  drifting  out,
  Difficulty  breathing  as  I'm   thrashed  about.

  Knocked  underwater, spinning  head  over  heels,
  Can  you  imagine  how  scary  that  feels ?
  It   takes  all  your  might  to  surface  for   air,
  As  another  ten  foot  wave  is  suddenly   there.

  Fear  is  within  me,  am  I  going  to  die ?
  A  critical  moment,  I  must  fight,  I  must  try.
  Somehow,  someway,  I  ride  a  wave  in
  Close  enough  to  the  shore  to  feel  land  again.

  My  friend  and  a  lifeguard  were  coming  to  see
  How  I'd   survived  in  that  raging   sea.
  Was   the  hardest  thing  physically  I've  ever  done
  Some  50  years  ago  in  the  California  sun.

                      Jim   Hendrickson

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James Horn January 8, 2021 at 10:01 AM https://www.poetrysoup.com/poets/top_100_poets_most_poems_all_time.aspx My over 8,000 poems can be accessed here. Am now number 6.

Akham Nilabirdhwaja Singh January 4, 2021 at 9:01 PM An absorbing tale.I had the same experience but over a hill. Jim Hendrickson January 4, 2021 at 10:21 PM Was the difficulty getting over the hill? Had you fallen off a path or road? Thanks for the kind words.