A Poem by Alexis Ragan

When I found out underwater volcanoes existed, I was taken

back to the summer of my juvenescence, when, in the sultry heat,

the water shocked my sun screened skin when I dove in,

when thirsty bees would buzz songs longing for nectar in

our ears right above the water, the cannonball my father made

creating an atomic bomb of chlorinated waves splashing onto

sizzling concrete, my damp feet playing hot potato with the ground,

the nearby garden oozing with life in saturated color, bright petals

cooking in the bright, low setting sun — the splashing, the bubbles

exiting laughing mouths, the diving deeper and deeper until faces look

towards the inviting light and playful arms shoot up towards the surface

and explode like newly erupted lava, this undeniable joy spilling out

of bursting hearts, fire red melting into tempestuous blue, happy to call

this moment our own. Maybe life is one brilliant underwater volcano,

this bubbling over of experiencing life in the natural God-weaved world,

building and building up within us until…Pop! We can’t help but let

the beauty pour right out of us, this infectious bliss of breathing and swimming,

running and singing, that we only long to let others know about. Of course,

there are times when we had to pull the bees out of pools with loose leaves,

reminding us that life helps life and sometimes we fall down, but the zealous bees

still shake off their drenched wings and find the spirit, the fire inside to fly,

to burst with life, once again. Let our lives be like underwater volcanoes,

full of water and flames painting the world with joy, let them be like zealous

bees who dip low to taste the sweet water and then take off into

the wild, blazing, burgundy sunset, eternally alive.

UNDERWATER VOLCANOES

SECONDHAND JOY