I work with many people
dating for the first time,
or the first time in a long time,
and we do our best to ensure that when
they eventually dip their toes into the pool of love,
it’s a warm, breezy, fern-studded salt-water grotto,
not a rec center public pool full of kid piss and old Bandaids.
That said, even the latter is not a complete catastrophe,
and, with time and compassion, makes for a relatable story.
