13

​we fidget on our surfboards
singing verses of Pearl Jam
and U2, watching each
other drift down the
curling waves of blue
& gray foam.
 
dan is the most intense,
Chris the best surfer,
Jim the bravest.

just once I'd like to
stand inside a barrel without fear.

instead, when my
wave comes, I bottom
turn and launch myself
up & over the sharp
wall of water
to the whoops of
my best friends
who see only
the seeming act
of bravery of
a 13-year-old
boy learning to
fly with the
soft cushion
of the ocean
to fall into.