Wild Swimming

Like a knife I cut the surface 
Of the deep dark saucer of the pool
And plunge down
Breath catching
And rising 
As toes and fingers
Are gripped by changing sensation;
The coldness
Seeps
Through 
Warm skin
Like a battery charger
Creeping into every part of me,
Leaving the world I know behind
To join me to this new place
In automatic union 
Of strange and raw freedom;
Where stress has vanished 
Drawn by osmosis,
Creating equilibrium 
In unknown depths
Of different rhythms,
Slowly Synchronised to my own;
Matching my strokes 
To the draw of the current;
My toes flexed 
Against a hidden force,
Breath is even
Energised and ready
Awareness is sharpened
The view is flattened
Levelled with nature;
I’m camouflaged
At one with the river;
My sight-line crossed
By those who travel other paths 
Unfazed,
Unknowing;
The rules are changed.