''The Giggle''

- Vikram Grewal

Is it
me scratching the grains
of sand against my nails
Or is it
her giggle that jiggles
on my submerged ear
as I lay on the shore?

Is it
my lungs crackling with
muddy gusts through my nostrils
Or is it
her giggle that wriggles
to break free from my ribs
as I lay there half-dissolved?

Is it
the dry breeze from the sails
that makes my choking maw gulp
Or is it
her giggle that tickles
my fragile nerves from toe to tuft
as I lay there half-resolved?

Is it
the threads of my ripped ends
swinging with each tide
Or is it
her giggle that trickles
down my lips to hug the horizon
as I lay on the threshold?

Is it
my salt soaked hair
that sting like plucked weeds
Or is it
her giggle that snuggles
under my head like a pillow
as I lay- a shipwrecked sunflower?

Do I hear the giggle still
that toppled the boat
and made the swimmer in me
decide to drown?