In it for the long run: First open water practice--first time swimming in the Schuylkill

Saturday, May 24, 2014

First open water practice yielded this poem:

Swimming in the Schuylkill

The water chills bare

skin. Startled awake,

I slide under, frightened

no more, curious,

hands brushing branches

the water chills. Bare

bones, swimming, outside

the lines. Invisible,

I slide under. Frightened

fish scuttle away, touched

by foreign fingers.

The water chills bare

landscapes now vibrant with dark

green shade, wounded trees

I slide under, frightened.

Invited to taste a river,

I drink

its currents,

chilled, bare.

Diane McManus