When We Were 16 Swimming at the Lake and You Said I Held On to You Too Tight - Charles K. Carter

poem read by Timothy Arliss OBrien

When We Were 16 Swimming at the Lake
and You Said I Held On to You Too Tight
Charles K. Carter

I am Charybdis, 

the monster most avoided, 

the most destructive path. 

I only whirlpool to gather you nearer, 

to feel your presence, 

to feel you, 

to feel. 

I am a lonely beast 

swallowing men and ships 

and hopes and dreams 

to gather a little of their light 

inside my own dark belly. 

You could pick men from my teeth 

but that’s only because 

I can’t hold them against my chest, 

I can’t hold them, 

I can’t hold, 

I can’t. 

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