The swimmer, a visual poem about the physical and mental benefits of open water swimming and an expression of my love for the ocean.
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When I enter the ocean, tired and hopeless, I am not sure if I will ever return.
Maybe today is the day I will just keep swimming?
I step into the bitter cold and it burns my skin like a million red hot needles.
I force myself to breathe slowly, accepting the cold and salty embrace.
I kick off gliding forward. I see only darkness below but I am weightless and free.
I feel the palm of my hand catching the water, pushing it along my body, propelling me forward.
Catch. Pull. Release. Kick.
Repeat.
I surrender to the ebb and flow.
I exhale my past and with every inhale, I am reborn.
I am right here, right now.
The fog lifts from my mind.
I am far from the shore, alone but safe.
I am home.
I put my head down in the darkness again, smile and swim towards the shore, hopeful, energized.
Today was not the day.
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