Morning Swim

Morning Swim

Kathleen Strycula

“It isn’t nothing to know even one moment alive.” – Ellen Bass

You awaken to the great murmuring of morning things.
The wind is running through the high trees,
The mist is resting on the water.
Your body reminds you of warmth and sleep and the early hour,
And you remind it back that this is exactly where you want to be.
The cold water embraces you.
You plunge in, quiet under, quiet over,
Just your own breathing, in and out,
But it joins the larger symphony of the dawn.
Did you forget for a moment to tread with wonder,
To remember that you are but one guest invited to witness these miracles?
Let this truth flood your soul again.
When you emerge, baptized anew,
You bless the water and give thanks for the sacred morning,
For it has taught you more about
Being alive.

---

Kathleen Strycula
Poet & Illustrator

Photography by Chrissa Giannakoudi