I keep saying how I want to be better at posting more. I never finished writing about Honduras, nor did I finish my Iceland posts. Maybe I will get back to them at some point, but for now as I find myself sitting in my new apartment in Charleston, I was inspired going through pictures of Argentina. I wrote a poem today influenced greatly by my experience at the glacier. I can’t reiterate enough how wonderful it is to find yourself with a group of people who not only make you feel endless love but who offer you a sense of belonging. I’m grateful for my marathon swim family but my cold water swim family has taken me somewhere completely different, somewhere I love so deeply for its uniqueness. Here is my poem (please excuse the language, I don’t often curse but the water sometimes does that to a person), inspired by my time spent in the waters of the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina. It didn’t transfer quite right so imagine a break between each third line (ugh).
A Glacial Love Affair
The cold burns as you dip that first toe
A little bit further you slide the other toes in, then the foot
“What the fu*k am I doing?” you whisper to yourself
Slowly the water separates and invites you in
It clings to your epidermis as you accept its invitation
Into the frigid water
The temperature plays on the line of freezing
Your breath quickens; your body tightens
“Fu*k!” you quietly scream
No mercy is shown for he who tempts nature’s chilly pool
As the pain grows, so does the smile creeping on your face
How could you not love this pain?
When Mother Nature offers herself
Raw, cold, and unyielding
You must embrace her, for her beauty is innocent
Your entire body is submerged in the icy water
Your heart beats faster
Oh, to know you are alive!
Further in you slither
She drinks you as if nothing were more planned
Then to be here in this place, now
Your chest, your neck, your head
They sink below the door of the surface
The numbness sets in as the smile grows
It’s time to breathe
Your head breaks her wall
As your hands stab through
All you need to do is move forward
Just touch the other side
And then you can end this pain
But why would you want to?
Your muscles swim by memory
As your body is too cold to be meticulous
When you reach the other side
The smile is the only thing everyone around you sees
The real pain has only just begun
Getting out of that glacial water is necessary
But you know within
That water is where you are at home
🙂
Wandering the World 