Underwater New York

To the Thirsty I Will Give Water

Yesterday morning while I read Montaigne
a man drove his car into the Gowanus canal.

I have never seen a greater monster or miracle
than myself, Montaigne wrote in the late 16th century.

It was a bright day.
The sun forgave no one.

Not even the firefighter who first saw
the car taken by the water while he was praying,

lighting a cigarette, remembering his lover’s face—
what was he doing, what did he think of before diving in?

It is not death, it is dying
that alarms me, Montaigne tells us.

Because he swallowed enough black water during the rescue
the firefighter was given two Hepatitis B shots afterward.

The man who lost his car was given his life back.
We were given Montaigne’s heart

which is preserved in the parish church named after him
in the southwest of France.

We were given more than we can drown.





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About the Author

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Alex Dimitrov is the recipient of a Hopwood Award from the University of Michigan. His poems have appeared in Best New Poets 2009, Southwest Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, and Crab Orchard Review.  He frequently writes for Poets & Writers magazine, and is the founder of Wilde Boys, a queer poetry salon in New York City. Read more of his poems at alexdimitrov.blogspot.com

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Tags: Alex Dimitrov, Gowanus Canal, Volvo