So Much For Their Blah Blah Blah

Photo Courtesy: Annie Grevers

By Zane Grenoble, 15-year-old Competitive Swimmer

My friends say 6:15 a.m. swim practice

Is a time better spent sleeping,

Is too cold

blah blah blah…

Other swimmers say 6:15 a.m. swim practice

Is lonely

Is too strenuous,

blah, blah, blah…

My dad doesn’t say anything about 6:15 a.m. practice

Because he is hibernating beneath a blanket

of warmed marshmallows

But when I dive into the water shimmering like fireworks on a winter night

The orange sky weaves its way into my magical daydreams

And composes a soothing melody.

The picturesque sky and tranquil water envelop me,

We are

one

Stroke after stroke

I contemplate alone in the massive pool.

My mind takes a sunrise stroll

It wanders through solitude

And soars across the peach heavens.

Every kick

Propels me through the candied water

And my body glides through the fragile water

effortlessly like a swan waltzing on ice.

While exhaustion piles into my brick legs,

The water replenishes me

And can do anything once again.

Birds chirp about hope that fills the air,

the sun greets me with its heartwarming hugs,

the untouched morning dewdrops form into glistening sunshine,

so much for their blah, blah, blah…

About the Author: Zane Grenoble swims for the Bruin Swim Club in Los Angeles. His specialty is long distance freestyle and this spring will be his first season on the Harvard Westlake H.S. swim team.

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Katie Crider

8 years ago

Adam Epstein is that your pic??

Adam Epstein

8 years ago

Reply to Katie Crider

That would be awesome, but no haha

liquidassets

8 years ago

Great poem. If this kid swims as well as he writes, we could have a Poet Laureate who’s also an Olympian someday.