Municipal Pool
That particular, chemical clarity,
sun into blue, ripples on the ceiling.
Rare days when water rests
between the ropes, unbroken and
the lifeguard dreams by the open door.
You slip in then, quiet, smooth
– thinking otter, thinking eel –
glide beneath the surface, break
for air. Then reach, pull, reach, pull,
reach, pull, breathe. Rhythm now,
hooves on wet sand, the regular
exuberant stretch for freedom:
reach, pull, reach, pull, reach, pull, breathe,
tumble-turning in the fishbowl of your days
Rachael Davey currently works on a wetland nature reserve, and swims whenever she can.