was it at the Palace of Sport in 1952? a whole school class
                           disappeared into the green water
they don’t surface again
                                           until today
                           and I feel the strong smell
           of chlorine in my nostrils. we were locked up
                                           like all the dusty birds
                            in the biology room. all exits barred
by a white-clad lunchroom matron
                                         who filled the whole world
                                              with her enormous bosom
                                         by teachers and
                                officers in the reserves. law
                        and order. there was nothing else to do
but let the air out of Mr. Fürstenberg’s bike tires
                                   wander off and get lost
                                                   whenever we had orienteering.
year after year
                      the boy in the Tarzan swimsuit
                                 has been bouncing up and down on the trampoline.
           howling in a shrill breaking voice
he dives into the water
                      to gaze in silence
               at the girls’ legs. but they are already married
            and all rolled up in lilac bathrobes.