Water Safe by Christina Lux and The Water by Jaden Afayi

Water Safe

At 6, we learn

to float,

bellies up,

noses dry,

holding hands,

counting stars,

knowing better

than to reach up

& catch them

lest we sink.

~ Christina Lux

The Water

The water
from the ocean

is salty
because the fish

carry salt
on their black fins.

~ Jaden Afayi Lux Ngafeeson

Christina Lux’s poems have appeared on NPR, in Women’s Studies Quarterly, The Delmarva Review, and various other journals and anthologies. She lived in Lawrence, KS from 2007-2013 and now lives in Central California. https://sites.google.com/site/caluxwriting/

Jaden Afayi is 7 years old. Born in Kansas City, he lived in Lawrence from 2007-2013 where he attended Raintree Montessori School and Cordley Elementary School. He wrote this poem when he moved to California and visited the ocean for the first time.