Excerpt from

Only the Swimmer

  He can't forget them:
night, the swimmer and the words
  Only the swimmer. . . .

  Night swims, the swimmer
passes between stars that drop
  below the surface

  of the words for nightfall,
and the words swim.
  Darkening they glide.

  After long pauses
they begin again. Only
  the swimmer stays down.

(c) 1997 The University of Chicago Press