Swan Dive by Maia von Maltzahn | One Poem Only

One Poem Only · Mar 17, 2026 · 1m

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Swan Dive by Maia von Maltzahn

Maia von Maltzahn

It’s the kind of hot

afternoon in August

where the sun cracks

your mouth open

so you can take

a big gulp of

life

Chin tucked

wind-up lanky-limbs

bare browned

shoulders hum

in the heat

running warm

wooden dock

beneath your feet, step

one, two, and

Leap…

gravity

greets

you

like a pinky-promise

in the lake

water answers

with a laughing splash

you elegant creature

here, you belong.

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