I stand on the hillside and watch under hot sun. “Take your marks.” The starting bell sounds. You dive in. The water breaks apart. Everywhere arms windmill inside the flashes of blue sky. My shoulders rock as yours work. I take a breath and hold it. Then take another. Legs kick. Not a fish. Not a dolphin. Human legs. Large, powerful thighs pushing the water like the engine on a speed boat. You are alone in the pool but I am connected. Once you swam in me. You finish at the wall. I collapse, spent from the labor of love.
Elizabeth Mitchell is an emergency physician. She used to be a swim mom. She and her son are writers working on a memoir together. lizmitchellmusemd.com Twitter: @emitchel