played mermaids with god

God had been hiding in a hotel pool

for 6 weeks when I found her. She

was waiting in the corner like a solemn

schoolgirl — was the teacher even looking?

Had anyone noticed God was missing?

You can imagine the shock to us both,

bumping into each other at a hotel pool.

An older woman sat in a chair beside 

the warm, blue water,

asked us where we were from.

I said, a five-minute drive. I live here.

Here? Why are you—she motions broadly—

here?!?

So God chimed in, "I'm from before time and after time.

The flowers bloom and die in accordance

with how I move and fold."

After this exchange, the older woman

on a chair beside the pool was a little less smug.

God then pinkie-promised me: if I don't tell where she is,

she'll teach me to float on my back after

she does this wicked cannonball.

So I waited in the splash zone.