I Would Never

I would never

surf.

I almost drowned when I was five.

I remember the feeling of being pinned underwater,

unable to surface,

my lungs feeling on fire.

I learned to swim -- sort of --

but my face never goes in the water.

I take showers.

I'd never try a flotation tank.

And the idea of wiping out,

of having a huge wave crash down

on my body. . . . 

well, that's too much to handle.

I can watch, however,

as someone else dances with waves.

I just know it'll never be me.

Not in this lifetime.