“What I miss the Most Is Swimming”
New York Times Opinion, April 10, 2020

I too miss it
the way one misses an old familiar friend

The water’s embrace upon entering
feet first
the shiver up the legs
then
with slight hesitation
full immersion

The transition from air to water
does something to the body
It becomes part of something else
The weightlessness
the body being carried
perhaps even cared for

Next, movement
the arms cutting through the water
The legs gently propelling the body forward

My favorite:
to flip onto my back
the vastness of space below me
floating on the earth’s surface
like Ella said,
nothing but blue skies above