The Deep End

I painted this piece in 2018, then wrote the follow poem for it this summer after a morning swim in the lake. They are each named the same.

The Deep End/2018

The Deep End / 2020

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Running in

my quickened step

is gently slowed

at water’s edge

I strain my speed

to anxious trod

clumsy, prancing,

dolphin? fawn?

And deeper yet

this quiet swell

engulfs my thighs

now to a speed

Of flower girls

step-together-step

my rush transformed

to confidence

And deeper still

a chill, a calm

my neck embalmed

’til underneath

my torso lifts

there is no speed

but flow

and roll

a sway, a dance,

her rhythmic trance

then I am home.

The deep end.

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