The Trick
is to pretend everything
doesn’t depend
on the delicate
stem of your neck,
twisting.
As if nothing
unusual were happening.
As if you were born
without weight,
meant for the water,
as if the only way
to love and be loved
is in the turn
of your body,
the curl of your palm
and fingers
sweeping yourself away
with every stroke,
carrying you back
with each new breath.
Michal Lemberger, finalist for the 2014 Bellevue Literary Review Marica and Jan Vilcek Prize for Poetry, is a Los Angeles-based writer and poet. She received her BA at Barnard College and PhD at UCLA. Magazine credits include Slate, Salon, and The Smart Set. Her poetry is forthcoming and has appeared in The Rattling Wall, poeticdiversity, Chaparral, and Cyclamen and Swords.