Promptly Poetry

Cold Water Thoughts

Cold Water Thoughts

The British Isles, being on the same latitude as Labrador,
would be frozen wastes were it not for the Gulf Stream,
a supposedly warm ocean current that bathes their shores
and creates a climate known as temperate, meaning
it has few of the extreme tantrums common to the new world,
preferring a moderate view of all things, including temperature.
Being of a geographical disposition of mind and aware
of such pontification upon the weather of the islands,
I greeted the North Atlantic with the same carefree joy
remembered from my days spent near the Indian version,
only to discover that immersing oneself in these northern waters
is not a matter to be essayed with innocent abandon,
there being a tendency to freeze to the marrow a body,
human or, I presume, otherwise, leading to a certain cynicism
regarding the naming skills of those geographers responsible
for the title granted our surrounding seas and currents.

Experience is a great teacher
and these days I still enter the waters,
but only as deep as my ankles,
emerging after a few minutes
with feet blue with shock
and toes as numb (and cold)
as yesterday’s french fries.
As Einstein would say,
“Warm” is a relative term.


Line Count: 25
Free (very) Verse
For Promptly Poetry, Week 22
Prompt: Cold water.
Notes: This alleged poem is experimental, part of a current drive I have to extend the length of my lines in poetry. Because, like Everest, it’s possible. Some might remark, with reason, that the result is more prose than poetry and they may be right. My only excuse is that it’s the best way I know to express my feelings regarding cold water. And feeling, surely, is fundamental to poetry.