Mariella in the Pool

I went in the pool last night
To see Mariella

The temperature dipped below fifty
And so I dipped my head
Below the surface
To see if Mariella was there

And she was
She always is

That's the nice thing about Mariella

So I sank down to the bottom
Right to the bottom of the pool
Where Mariella was sipping her cocktail
Leafing through her magazine

'Mariella, do you know it's cold?'
'I don't feel cold'
'That's because you live in the pool'
'It's because I'm from India. Nobody gets cold in India'
'Can I brush your hair, Mariella?'
'Only if you do my nails first'

So I paint Mariella's toenails--what else?
Navy blue

Her gentlemen all stand around the edge of the pool
Looking down into the water
Wondering how they could get down there to her
Without drowning

They see me down there with her
But I don't want anything from Mariella
Just to brush her hair
And hear her tell stories

'...And that was the last thing I ever shoplifted.'
'That's a wonderful story, Mariella.'
'I think I'll go for a swim.'

She moves her arms above her head
Kicks her feet out
And does what can only be described
As seven jumping jacks

'There. That felt good'

One man dips his hand in the water
And Mariella's little dog Stanley
Pulls at his leash
Trying to get to the man's finger
So he can bite it off

But Mariella clicks her tongue
And Stanley comes back
And sits on his little pillow

Mariella gives him a piece of swordfish

'Good boy, Stanley'

Sometimes in the summer
Mariella comes out of the pool
And we go dancing on the patio
Saying lines from 'The Philadelphia Story'
And making Stanley be Cary Grant

Then we raid the fridge
And make peanut butter sandwiches
Cut into little squares
Or shaped like radishes
And we can barely keep them in our mouths
Because we're laughing so hard

But now it's cooler out
And I have school all week
And Mariella takes lots of naps

'Mariella, will you live here forever?'
'No, darling. I'm moving to Paris in the spring.'
'You say that everywhere.'
'And every year I go. I just come back before you notice I'm gone.'

I don't think that's possible
But I don't tell Mariella that

She's happy somewhere
When she thinks she won't be there long
It's just her nature

All the men at the edge of the pool
Start to sing an old sea shanty
But Mariella shoots them a look
And they change their tune

'I get no kick from champagne...'

This suits her better

She stands up
And takes my hands
And we let our legs come up from under us
So that we're skydiving
In the middle of the pool

Spinning around and around
Our hair spread out around us
Like auburn blankets

And we get a kick out of each other
We really do