Swimming Poetry
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Early morning wake up call Squeeze into suit that's way too small |
Put on the suit, slip on the cap, step in the water and begin your first lap Flip turn here, hold your breath there |
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The swimmers are lined up behind their blocks; The timers are getting ready their clocks. |
First it's about the shock of the cold and the strength of the first five laps. |
With help by Edgar Allen Poe:
Once upon the swimmer’s dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten sets —
While I swam, nearly flipping, suddenly there came a dripping,
As if someone was gently kicking, kicking at my chest.
“’Tis some swimmer,” I muttered, “kicking at my head —
Only this and enough said.”
Ah, distinctly I remember it was a black line;
And six of them; separated upon the tiled floor.
Eagerly I wish to find;—the pool’s mastermind
Hiding in her chamber door
For the rare and radiant maiden with the angel’s face….
She sits at the finish, sometimes bitterly
while she waits for this race.
But find her and perhaps you’ll claim victory.
(by Coach Drake, July 2026)
Swimming. It's the feeling you get at the end of a hard practice when you pushed yourself to the limit; the way the water feels when you get back in after a few months off. It's a part of your identity, something you love and something you hate. A bond that's okay because every time you are up on the blocks it isn't just you; it's all the friends and coaches over the years, all the practices, all the laughter, all the "off" races, all the lifetime bests, and all the road trips. As individual as it may seem, swimming is really a team sport, and even still, it's more than just a sport. It's a way of life!
Posts above taken from "swim-city.com" discussion forum.