that he's alright at the end?
Yes, I was saying without hesitation
I'm sure he's alright at the end.

You were sitting up, your eyes
were so wide. Are you sure
you were asking me again

except that he's tiny, the size
of a kidney bean, and I'm blowing
a whirlwind into his embryotic mouth

and then I have him again, I’m standing
on the stern of the ferry, calmly
giving mouth to mouth

Anyway then the kayak is the wrong
way up. I remember to dig my phone
out of my jeans pocket before I jump

but in this nightmare we aren't
imagining anything; we aren't
afraid of anything; we aren't

(what we imagine
is more real
than what's real)

There's no fear at all.
I'm not saying
there's nothing to be afraid of

There's seaspray and sunlight
and he's delightedly cutting
slices out of the water.

We are smiling. He
has got himself into a kayak
and he's on the water.

This is what I told you:
We are on a ship, huge,
going somewhere important.

That nightmare I told you about
—I was remembering honestly
apart from the bit at the end.

Thanks for the follow. Lovely poem. This is what it prompted for me. Just written quickly, will give it a proper edit later, but sharing now as I really enjoyed this moment of reading, relating, responding