A Shallow End

A shallow end is nothing like
What you would ever expect
It’s nothing like a puddle at all,
But instead of deeper depths
The shallow end is something more,
Something more like the deeper end
But without the safety of a floor
And deeper still, left to contend
With the fathoms of the sky
The swimmer sees ahead of him-
Forever in his inward eye
Loitering on the building’s brim
Alongside crowds of laughing crows
Pretending to be one of them
As the ground falls from his toes
Caught in pretty, flippant thoughts
Deeper than anyone could know
But shallow compared to my sense of loss,
Buried with him six feet below.