Swimming Lessons

I do maths in the pool

One length is fifty, means one hundred is two

Swimming is my teacher

The lido, my school

All these sums they pause time,

and in the pause I go slow

Five laps is Two-Fifty

Just five lengths to go

At the lido, it’s quiet

Save the thrum of my breath

And my limbs, pulsing, rhythmic

Only two laps left

I do maths in the pool

Ten’s a safe number I think,

But today I stop at sixteen

And yet, I don’t sink

Instead I float

On top of the water,

Skim the surface as I turn

My sums here don’t matter

Better lessons to learn

The water holds me, I am weightless

And when sunlight dapples my skin

I think perhaps I am beautiful, mythic even

Just dive in