bill callahan
when i was seven
i asked my mother
to trip me to the bay
and put me on a ship
and lower me down
lower me out of here
because when i was seven
i wanted to live in a bathysphere
between coral
silent eel
silver swordfish
i can't really feel or dream down here
and if the water should cut my line
set me free
i don't mind
i'll be the lost sailor
my home is the sea
my father said to me
'but you can't swim'
and i've never dreamed of the sea again