Swimming in Flaming June

As July approaches - at the speed of light it seems - I have to say that June has lived up to its "flaming June" description. We have had a lot of sunshine - and some heartbreakingly beautiful blue skies full of white clouds, all moving along at stately or scudding pace.

We have had visitors - a rare thing in these pandemic days - and more to come next month. And I have had a fall - which has ensured my back is now more painful then ever. Moan moan whinge whinge.

Carol Rumens picked this as Poem of the Week in The Guardian. It is a sort of Pantoum, I think:

Llyn Gwynant by Elizabeth-Jane Burnett

All through the night I twitch my heart.
Swimming is a kind of hiccup
that jolts the body clean apart.
All through the night I twitch my heart;
tight contractions of sleep starts
break like waves pushing me up.
All through the night I twitch my heart.
Swimming is a kind of hiccup.


And though I wake from something deep,
the pull comes from the darkening lake.
It is not night, I did not sleep.
And though I wake from something deep,
it is not sleep my muscles heap
on bone but waves that gently break.
And though I wake from something deep,
the pull comes from the darkening lake.

Then always afterwards a calm
that flattens out the body’s crease,
the water holds me in its palm
and always afterwards a calm,
a wash of mint and lemon balm
and wallflowers (once known as heart’s ease);
then always afterwards a calm
that flattens out the body’s crease.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2022/jun/27/poem-of-the-week-llyn-gwynant-by-elizabeth-jane-burnett

Wild swimming would be lovely in this weather. But it is one of the things I have had to say goodbye to, due to my age. I have "wild swum" in the River Derwent and in the Lake District when I was young, though we just called it swimming then.

And when the earth is restored to Paradise, under the loving rule of the Kingdom of God, and all streams are clear, all lakes are brimming with life as they should be - and all lochs are free of monsters - then I hope to go wild swimming again.

Wednesday night I heard of the death of an old friend.  I will be blogging some memories of the times we had together.