Once at the town swimming pool,
When I was a girl,
Someone pointed out to me
My mother’s high-school boyfriend
A blobby man in the water
Hair on his back
Walrus-like
Flopping around
I felt no affinity
Now I am the mother
Of three kids, one merely an infant
Plus an ex boyfriend to my credit
And a husband who has met expectations
Except he drinks too much
On the weekends
I imagine a reel-to-reel tape recorder
Rewinding
Except through time
I re-record over the old stuff
And marry someone else
Except somehow, my wonderful children
Are the same as ever
Except a little happier, and untroubled
By events not worth mentioning
We are blessed, I believe
To live in a fourth dimension
That progresses forward only
And at a constant rate, seemingly
Nevertheless
I find myself wanting
To dive into the water
Swim among the legs of strangers
And snare what I misappraised
Those years ago
Which, for lack of a better name,
I shall call
A Claddagh ring