the deep end

when i was young
they taught me to swim
in the shallow waters
of a backyard pool.
what they never taught me
was how to swim
when you're drowning in sorrow
and it's swallowing you whole.
trying to stay afloat
with an anchor on my heart
salt water in my lungs
and pouring from my eyes.
i'm fighting, heaving, gasping for air
but it all winds down
to my impending demise.
thrown into the endless abyss
the deep end never prepared me
for this.