Where did you learn
to float like that?
What else can a boy do
in a house always drowning?
His family forgets not
teaching him to swim—
treading water,
survival.
Instead of bedsheets he
wraps himself in lifejackets.
He is instinctively
aware of high tides,
thinks only of keeping
his head above water.
Mason Nunemaker is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota where he earned a B.A. in English with a focus in poetry writing. As an undergraduate he competed in and organized several poetry slams on campus and across the Twin Cities. He has been a featured performer at several slams and open mics in the area and represented the University of Minnesota twice at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI). Previous publications include: a spoken word piece on the Indiefeed Performance Poetry Podcast and a written piece in Ivory Tower Arts & Literary Magazine.
A Quiet Courage 