sharks at the local pool

i used to go to the pool to visit them.
the sharks with their mouths full of pairing knives. 
they lived in the diving well. that deep blue.
when i was smaller i feared them.
saw their faces in the dark. then, one day
when i was lonely & the summer was invincible,
i dived down as deep as i could. i thought maybe
i could swim far enough to emerge in 
an easier life. instead, i found myself
among them. i learned to speak shark
which mostly just involves hiding your tongue
so that it doesn't get severed by your teeth.
they taught me about water. asked me how
i planned to grow gills. above there were shirtless boys
playing barefoot basketball & girls laying
on their towels. gender does not wash off
no matter how much chlorine you swallow.
the sharks did not ask me if i was a boy
or a girl, instead they asked me, "who do you
call home?" i did not have an answer. i talked
about my brother though. they begged me
to bring him. i never did though. i wanted the sharks
all to myself. of course, without gills,
i could never stay. gasping at the surface 
& swimming to the ladder. the lifeguard 
did not know there were sharks & neither did
the adult swimmer or even most of 
the other children. once & only once did 
a little girl ask me, "do you stay down there
to talk to the sharks?" i answered, "what sharks?" 
though i wish i could go back & tell her,
"yes, i do. they hear me."