A Fear of Water

There was a man who had a calling,
joined the priesthood,
never doubting his vocation
till he took two girls
out boating.

One of them was from his parish,
she was gentle -
and he smiled, he'd always liked her,
but the other one,
her girlfriend was a sceptic,
and unsettling.

While he rowed them
on the river, in the sunshine,
she was watching,
eyes a-sparkle as she took in
bulging muscles.

Now he knew what she was seeing;
not his priesthood,
but a man with bulging muscles,
in a rowboat on the river.

In an icy wash of horror
that was colder than the river
he was drowning. Save me,
save me, he prayed mutely
as he turned the rowboat shorewards.

Father never takes a rowboat
on the river anymore;
never feels the welcome pulling
of an oar that fights the current;
for he says he's scared of water,
that the river makes him fearful,
and he finds the sunshine sparkle
on the surface too unsettling.