NOON SWIM AT THE YMCA

On my back in the water, Lord,

my hands are folded

as I kick my feet against the water

listening to Karen tell me

that I am a mountain

with its own weather system.

This is my daily swim.

She didn’t use those words.

Her words are seeding themselves

in these last days of January

where I will have ready access to them.

The illness must always be the teacher.

I believe this, as I believe

there is also a cost to the vessel.

If this be a prayer, Lord,

it arrives and contains your grace

lined and aligned with gratitude.

Jim Bodeen

20 January 2010