I’ve been to pools
with black people
before
There were
five maybe six
not twenty
And all of them teenagers
pushing and running
where are the parents
Several white men
sit in chairs avoiding
eye contact
I’m not racist
I didn’t say you were
I’ve got small children
So do I
There is nothing wrong here
There is absolutely nothing wrong here
Because teenagers push
and do cannon balls
and yell and taunt and scream
I was a white teenager once
I was loud
sometimes
My youngest son is not
a strong swimmer
these waves
Someone will
be that white parent
go to the desk
Maybe the cops will come
because teenagers are
acting like teenagers
Should I go back and
get my cellphone
just in case
I was a teacher once
It was my job to tell
black kids I didn’t know
To settle down
I had a teacher voice
once
And then a white girl
gets a beach ball
my son is laughing
The white people
toss the beach ball
in the shallow end
We hear the shrieks
and splashes
I cannot read
The faces
of the other white parents
they seem relaxed
I am not racist
I just don’t want my
son to drown
I was a teenager once
I last did a
cannonball
Back in the nineties
now I don’t know
what to do
In crowded pools
so I watch
other people’s children
And try to smile
I’m glad that they’re safe
I’m glad they can be
Teenagers who
act like teenagers
grabbing pushing running shrieking
My son is laughing
soon he’ll be a teenager too
but he’s white
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