Skins
I wore a wetsuit into the lake
sun glinted,
elbowing through youthful foliage,
neoprene absorbed the blows
of water’s rising assault
I was braced, mustered:
leaving fear on the shore
with my dry robe and car keys
where it watched me
rising proud from wind-fractured water
I sought that tidal
inhalation, holding still and
believing that – despite signals
from triggered neurology –
I am alive and strong and
bathed in beautiful wild nature
I planted both feet on slimy rock
allowing myself to sway
like weed, as I missed and
mourned the
deep, drenching sensation of
warm body in cold water
