Poems
A number of swimmers I know compose verse, or haiku while swimming, or about swimming, the water and whatever comes to mind that is water related. This section honours some of them, while also showcasing some eminent poets who have written of the water. Christina Rossetti's 'Ferry me across the Water' is in memoriam Caroline Harris
Teresa Kay
Swimmer, Oxfordshire
Twelve Days of Christmas 2021-22
On the first day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
tidings of a sewage spill at Witney
On the second day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the third day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
countless pathogens,
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the fourth day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
four floating turds,
countless pathogens,
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the fifth day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me five pads with wings,
four floating turds,
countless pathogens,
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the sixth day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
river birds abating,
five pads with wings,
four floating turds,
countless pathogens,
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the seventh day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
seven swimmers vomming,
river birds abating,
five pads with wings,
four floating turds,
countless pathogens,
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the eighth day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
slimy fungus forming,
seven swimmers vomming,
river birds abating,
five pads with wings,
four floating turds,
countless pathogens,
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the ninth day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
aquatic insects dying,
slimy fungus forming,
seven swimmers vomming,
river birds abating,
five pads with wings,
four floating turds,
countless pathogens,
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the tenth day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
fishes gender-bending,
aquatic insects dying,
slimy fungus forming,
seven swimmers vomming,
river birds abating,
five pads with wings,
four floating turds,
countless pathogens,
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the eleventh day of Christmas,
Thames Water sent to me
plant life declining,
fishes gender-bending,
aquatic insects dying,
slimy fungus forming,
seven swimmers vomming,
river birds abating,
five pads with wings,
four floating turds,
countless pathogens,
microplastic sludge
and another sewage spill at Witney
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Thames Water sent to me...
- nothing more -
- the spills went on for just eleven days of Christmas -
Joline Gordon
Poet, California
It is an ocean
And it is mine
Somewhere in its depth lies my beginning
A love that has no end
For this I must swim
Through the darkness of the waters
A light shines through
The beginning of something beautiful
But then it disappears
I feel alone and lost
But I keep swimming
It's been a lifetime of comes and goes
It slowly fades or vanishes suddenly
Or it was never really there at all
I could drown in the hurt
But I keep swimming
It is always different yet the same
Always beautiful
Same falling, same love, same end
Always an end
But with an end will come a beginning
One day I'll find my beginning with no end
So I just keep swimming
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
If you had swum across the furthest ocean
And seen the vastness of infinity
Though dread of death might seize you, you'd still see The rolling waves
in never-ceasing motion
(from Faust)
Eeva Kilpi
Finnish writer and poet
Nukkumaan käydessä ajattelen:
Huomenna minä lämmitän saunan,
pidän itseäni hyvänä,
kävelytän, uitan, pesen,
kutsun itseni iltateelle,
puhuttelen ystävällisesti ja ihaillen,
kehun: Sinä pieni urhea nainen,
minä luotan sinuun.
As I'm going to bed I think:
Tomorrow, I'll heat up the sauna,
I'll treat myself kindly, I'll
take myself for a walk, a swim, I'll wash myself,
invite myself for evening tea,
I'll address myself fondly, with admiration,
I'll praise myself: You little, courageous woman,
I trust you
Jeremy Wellingham
Chief Dodo and Oxfordshire open water swimmer
sunrise solstice dip
goose beach on far side of isle
devil casts his quoits
flower moon ladder
shines on lake – swim at sunset
cygnets re-united
dark michaelmas swim
raison d'etre birthday cake
lit spire between the trees
high tide, high summer
orange floats swept to kew
run red – name taken
flag claims territory
european picnic food
dappled lakeside shade
Rachel Toll
Three good friends went for a swim
The one who was fat wished she was thin
The one she was curvy wishes she was clever
The one who was clever wishes she swam better
All three friends thought the other two fine
If only they could let their own bright light shine
So throw on your swimsuit if you're fat or you're thin
Enjoy fun and friendship, enjoy the skin that you're in
Helen Edwards
Dodo and Oxford open water swimmer, swimming everyday in open water now for more than five years
Can you hear the stirrings of spring
Under this sheltering sky
In the icy cold waters
And the clearing of the air
Living in my own skin
Lodging in this beautiful world
The exquisite time of the setting sun
Opening the space between sky and ground
So life is even more than before
Port Meadow
Rising dark of sky
Dust of sun in air's memory
Birdsong like honey
Halcyon Days
Go gently
As Solstice approaches
To return the light
Peace, joy and happiness to all
The sound of thousands of wings
Belonging together
Opening to nature
Otmoor, Oxford
Missing the Thames
As my water journeying unfolds
In Indonesia.....
Spring emerging on the river bank
Growing in colours and compassion
Every year reminding us
We are not separate from nature
Lina Tengblad, Marielle Sjoren,
Anna Carin Olsen
100dagarkallabad, Gothenberg, Sweden
Bada bada bada, Varje dag
Bada bada bada, Varje dag
Bada Ja, Bada Ja
Bada bada bada, Varje dag!
Swimming, swimming, swimming, every day
Swimming, swimming, swimming, every day
Swimming Yes, Swimming Yes
Swimming, swimming, swimming, every day!
Mike Harris
Serpentine Swimming Club
and year-round outdoor swimmer
The Serpentine Pond
Is missing its swimmers but
Soon we will be back
Where's the Ice Machine?
We need a cool place to swim
With floating sauna
Brisk misty morning,
Serpentine Swims invigorate
Salmon pink torsos
Damp December Morn
Serpentine beckons
so does The changing room
Hawaii Five O
Waiting for Sheila, cool clear
Water swim today
Swimming under the
Sun and the Moon,
delighted By the Serpentine
Magnolia flower,
Last one to bloom, delicate,
The future assured
Last swim of the year
With Dames and Olympians
Darling Serpentine
"Bloody cold in there!!"
Sunny Serpentine swimming
Also lost dog found!!
Serpentine swim with
Swans, perfect temp, rewarded,
Spicy cheese flapjacks
Nippy Dippers in
The Serpentine today, sun's
Golden rays shining
Sixty-Five swims, all
New seas, pools, lakes and rivers
Stanley's doing LXVs
I was hoping to
Swim tomorrow conference
Beckons, no swimming
Christina Rossetti
Poet, 1830 - 94
Ferry me across the water
Ferry me across the water
Do boatman do
If you've got a penny in your purse
I will ferry you
I have a penny in my purse
and my eyes are blue
So ferry me across the water
Do boatman do
Step into my ferry boat
Be they black or blue
And for the penny in your purse
I will ferry you
By the water
There are rivers lapsing down
Lily-laden to the sea;
Every lily is a boat
For bees, one, two, or three:
I wish there were a fairy boat
For you, my friend, and me.
We would rock upon the river,
Scarcely floating by;
Rocking rocking like the lilies,
You, my friend, and I;
Rocking like the stately lilies
Beneath the statelier sky.
But ah, where is that river
Whose hyacinth banks descend
Down to the sweeter lilies,
Till soft their shadows blend
Into a watery twilight?—
And ah, where is my friend?