Poetry Olympics at Paper Poetry
Swimming With a Shark
In lopsided circles
I’m in the deep end
of the pool
swimming backstroke
lopsided
circling in a slipstream
of my own blood
I’ve lost a limb
Could it be that shark took it?
the same one that’s been
helping itself to my flesh
all the while I was blind
I focus on the sky
so to know which way is up
towards heaven
I see my life pass over
before me
still I swim
in lopsided circles
the weight of my severed limb
like a buoy in the water
reminding me
I was once whole
© Carolyn Hastings 2024
I set out to write a poem for Poetry Olympics at Paper Poetry that honours the Paralympic Games that commence in Paris on August 28. I don’t know about you, but for me, the sheer courage and determination of athletes with physical, sensory and mental challenges…