"Breast Stroke" 18x24 |
Follow up: This painting was my submission to the Wickford Art Association's Poetry and Art exhibit. Below is the poem that was written inspired by my painting. So honored!
First Swim
The shock of a bald scalp
under a swim cap, a soundless
shriek, mouth agape.
Anticipation. No, trepidation,
Stretching without discomfort
doing the breast stroke, thrusting
forward, pushing away
past months. Water laps
a lopsided swimsuit where
scraped tissue has been; a
weird sensation of asymmetry
bathes the incision like liquid
balm. Mimicking the curves
of the water’s bubbles
and ripples is the soft
geometry of the cap, the goggles.
In baptism, the swimmer renewed.
- Helen D'Ordine