It’s all about choices, someone will say.
As if there were a way to know ahead
Of time that I was putting my foot wrong.
It was a hot day, the first taste of summer
Weather after weeks of rain, and we went
Down to walk along the riverside. I don’t
Recall why I turned my back to the water,
Only the feeling of the bank giving way
Beneath my foot. I tried to save it, but
That only made things worse. At first I thought,
Well, this will be something we laugh about
Later, but the water was so fast, so cold,
And I needed to inhale but couldn’t quite
Get my head above water, couldn’t see
The hands reaching out too late to save me.

©  Mark Milner, 2018