Anna Swanson
Mammalian Diving Reflex
Note: All words (with the exception of title) transcribed from garbage found in the Cape Broyle swimming hole, NL.
We understand the cold
by putting our faces
into it. The water is not
symbolic, not an exam
question, not proof.
Blood stalls in our limbs
& at our limits. The good
pump slows its trade,
keeps the light on only
in the necessary kernel.
When we surface, a glazing
of cool sun, the quiet crush
of animal calm. Stand still,
I am testing your name.
We are mammals,
handsprings, children
with maps. Corn popping
in the soft air.
After we undress quietly in the sun
Note: All words (with the exception of title) transcribed from garbage found in the Cape Broyle swimming hole, NL.
We are a queer candy
in the underwater light.
The sugar sting of the crush.
The ionic thirst & against
all odds, the quencher.
Like the lesbionic hand of god
rang a bell, like time spilled
green again in our laps
& we turned to one another,
soft as we dared.
We break the ice with a garden shovel for the first swim of spring
Note: All words (with the exception of title) transcribed from garbage found in the Punch Bowl Pond, St. John’s, NL.
Cash & carry. In & out.
A refining fire that jacks
you up & tongues off
your pale under-coating
of salt. Cold shock-starts
your animal breath,
shakes you like a can.
Last season’s slag & mildew
replaced by a hot buzz
below the skin:
carbonated, unruly,
ready for what comes.
Cold Shock Response
Note: All words (with the exception of title) transcribed from garbage found in the Cape Broyle swimming hole, NL.
Gasp. Cautionless
mouthfuls. No skill or aim,
only appetite in gloves of slush.
Gasp, we grab at the air
before asking, Is there air?
Alight with cold, classroom
potassium dropped in water.
Blood, punching. Our old code
calling. We gasp, cold bells
that cannot stop ringing.
Anna Swanson is a queer writer and librarian living in Ktaqmkuk/St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Her writing is interested in chronic illness, concussion, embodiment, identity, queerness, and survival joy. Her first poetry book, The Nights Also, won the Gerald Lampert Award and a Lambda Literary Award. Her writing has appeared in various anthologies including In Fine Form: The Canadian Book of Form Poetry and The Best Canadian Poetry in English. She works with Riddle Fence as a poetry editor, loves wild swimming in all seasons, and is working on a project creating poems with words from garbage found in local swimming holes.
