Ronan

by Liam Wallace

A boy drowned some years ago
On a beach with a name that I forget.
 
No one saw him enter the water
So nothing can be said for his intention
His purpose undetermined
His face a blank canvas marked by
Only a smattering of freckles
 
A surfer noticed the boy
Swept up by a rip, unable/unwilling to untangle
Himself from the pull and tug
Of increasingly harsh
Ocean water.
 
The surfer called out
Before he paddled towards the boy,
Thrusting his old waxen board underneath
A succession of waves
Unsure of whether he was more than
A speck viewed from the shoreline
 
The boy sunk further out and further down,
Only hands flailing above unforgiving
Blue.
I do not know
When the surfer returned to shore. Only that
The boy did not.

​Liam Wallace (they/them) is a recent graduate from the University of Wollongong in environmental humanities, history and sustainable development. They love reading and are also a keen runner. Liam tutors primary school students and enjoys getting to share ideas about writing with them.

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