Test the Water: a poem by J W Goossen

image by Kanenori, on Pixabay

Test the Water

I wade in

the Adriatic is cool                              

air also cool.

Within seconds

I cannot feel the difference

between the water                         

and my ankles       

an equilibrium

of temperature and senses.

Even so, every wave

erodes the sand

beneath my heel

a shift of weight

the reset

return to balance.

The noon time

sun rests behind

a sullen colourless cloud

escaping occasionally to provide a bullet

of warmth to pierce the air

but leave the sand unchanged.

Is it even wading

if the water

barely clears my ankles?

My knees will never know

the peace

my feet have found.                                 

__________________________

J W Goossen, born and raised in Vancouver, currently lives in Ladner,

British Columbia, and enjoys carving out time for writing poems and

stories, and painting. Publishing credits include Rhubarb, Red World

Periodical, As Surely As The Sun Literary Journal, Grain, Canadian

Stories, Red Ogre Review, and Alchemy. www.jwgoossen.com

June 2025 issue