by Troy Reeves

I lean back, spread my arms, and float,
four hundred feet of water below me,
above, a bottomless sky piled with clouds
so full of light they dazzle my eyes.
But more brilliant than the sky
is the miracle of my buoyancy,
physics older than the beginning of time,
principles kept secret a million years,
until a young Tuscan read God’s mind,
laws unknown until Newton sat down
to rest beneath an apple tree,
and that science known but to God alone
ages before Adam knew Eve—anatomy,
which, I suppose, leads back to me,
a grown man, muscle and bone, liver
and spleen, lungs, sinuses, plenty of fat,
and quarts of water in my veins,
lying on my back on this Ozark lake,
afloat between time and eternity…

---

Troy Reeves resides in Nixa, Missouri, with his wife, Susie. Following his retirement from Angelo State University, where he taught for 33 years, the couple relocated to Nixa. Troy’s poetry has been featured in esteemed publications, including Christian Century, Dappled Things, America, and Anglican Theological Review. In his free time, Troy enjoys reading, taking long walks, playing ping pong, and volunteering at his local church alongside Susie.