(Winter Swimming)

So you lovely ocean at my doorstep
a bathtub almost full then half full
tepid, warm and freezing

my blood pressure rises and falls
at whim sending my head spinning
and a cold shower is but a bitter
consolation

I want to swim in you my dear friend
the sea
I check my land, air, water app for the
key
If it's red, I must not swim E.coli lurks
in the wake of a storm
But orange is just a warning, like don't
swallow the sea just swim in me 
and I do

I wallow, kick, swim, lie back and adore
stand, watch through waves, admire 
the sea floor, random starfish, seaweed
I adorn myself with kelp bulbs, imagine
sharks but briefly, watch the sun rise
above the pines

watch the ferry leave, see latecomers
running, coats on
unaware I'm there, neck deep or floating
sometimes kicking vigorously
dodging waves if it's an orange day my
mouth closed
or practising my newly learned freestyle
face down

At age 5 I would shiver out of the water
standing in hot sand, teeth chattering
covered in goosebumps, towel around
my shoulders, licking an ice-cream
then giddy and sick on the sea-saw

At 73, emboldened by you, my darling sea
fearlessly entering you, unfazed by your
freezing arms, blood rushing to greet you

all my goosebumps gone