This Photograph by Michael McGill

“I was three years old when I first
tried to walk on water.”

This Photograph by Michael McGill

1

I was three years old when I first
tried to walk on water. I leapt
before sinking then I remember
hearing a voice; an echo of some
strange sermon. Suddenly, my father

grabbed me, lifting me somewhere
warmer, somewhere safer. I have seen
a photograph of that day; a child,
wrapped up in blankets like a car
crash survivor, is surrounded

by adults; all loving, all laughing.
I have looked at this photograph
and thought, “There is warmth there,
and there is love,” even if part
of me remains under the water.

2

I was three years old when I first
sank. I realise now that the voice
under the water was yours. Only now,
I understand why I fell:
because I knew I‘d be saved.

*

Michael McGill is a UK-based poet from Edinburgh, Scotland who has recently had work published in Far Off Places, Rock & Sling, Funhouse Magazine, New Walk, Northwords Now, The Haiku Quarterly and Ink, Sweat and Tears. Find him on Twitter @MMcGill09.