Today I swim
Further than I have ever gone before
To mark 25 years of an organisation’s creative work
Its perseverance
Endurance
Opportunity

I swim 25 kilometres
Over three days
Friday, Saturday, Sunday

I start, confident, quickly
Darting up and down the leafy waters
Of London Fields lido

I swim faster than normal
Deciding that I can break the back of it
On day one
Then, after four kilometres
Cramp strikes at my right calf
Like a poisoned dagger

Cramp?  Cramp!!  After only four kilometres?
And all those months of cramp-free training

Doubt clouds my mind in an instant and I wonder
Will I let everyone down?
All those who have donated to the cause
Encouraged my efforts
Applauded the challenge
And I can’t even complete 5 kilometres?

Despondently I decide to rest, eat,
Travel home, and eventually return to an indoor pool
The after shock of the cramp clawing at my leg as I walk
The muscles tight, unusual, threatened by the chemical imbalance
And I enter the water gloomily
And swim

One slow length, waiting for the dagger to return
Two lengths, waiting, waiting
Three, four and I find I am moving steadily
Minutes pass, then more minutes, then hours
Until a dazzling sun set illuminates the gathering of grey clouds
And I find I have met my target for the day
And all is not lost
After all