Debbie Olson

First Time

In high school we are required to take a semester of swimming. I say no and instead tread water in the halls, behind the school, anywhere but class. I turn to the lake and its inlets where my boyfriend teaches me how to bait a hook and we learn to navigate our bodies.

with one tug
the anticipation is over
fish eye

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About the Author

Debbie Olson’s poetry has appeared in Acorn, Akitsu, bottle rockets, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, Presence, Poetry Pea, and Prune Juice, among other journals, and The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku. She lives in New York State.

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