When I was growing up, I wanted to be an Olympic swimmer. As an introvert, swimming was a sport I could do. But the flip turn alluded me. I gave up when competitions required a flip turn.
My oldest daughter swam competitively from 7th to 12th grade. Our lives were consumed with practice and meets.
When Sarah Donovan of Ethical ELA put out a call for sports poems, I drew on these experiences and wrote a duplex poem about swimming, First Heat. The poem was accepted and is now published alongside Inklings Heidi Mordhorst and Linda Mitchell, as well as admired authors like Nikki Grimes, Laura Shovan, and Padma Venkatraman. You can purchase a copy of Rhyme & Rhythm: Poems for Student Athletes at Archer Publishing’s website.
The Poetry Sisters challenge this month was to write a tanka in conversation with another sister’s poem. I chose Heidi’s poem from Rhyme & Rhythm, Cleatless about dancing.
My feet didn’t beat
until they stepped in time with
yours, right-together-right, left-together-left two
Margaret Simon, draft
step, twirl face-to-face with you.
Reflections on the Teche 
Congratulations, Margaret! I’d say writing poems about swimming means you have mastered the flip turn in your own unique Margaret-poet way. Yay! (Our son competed as a swimmer for a few years, and I can still feel the sting of chemicals in my nose upon entering covered pool decks!) I look forward to reading the poems in this book. xo
Congratulations, Margaret! Looking forward to a wonderful new poetry book! I felt like dancing after reading your tanka.
My son competed, too, but gave it up for LaCrosse! Congratulations for your poem being published. That’s terrific. I remember how much you and your husband went dancing, before the ‘at home’ time, thought of that when I read your poem, & love “twirl face-to-face with you”. Have a lovely weekend!
Of course you wrote a poem about dancing!
I can’t get that flip turn either – but never mind! We can love the water anyway. I also love dancing – and how it, like swimming, contains its own internal flowing through music. I love best the line, “until they stepped in time with/ yours.”
Congratulations, Margaret! Lovely publication news :>) What a lively tanka–a great dancing poem!
Look at that!!! I might have featured Our New Book (that’s fun to type!) this week too but I have a very very short attention span at the moment and honestly I forgot. I’ll give it its due next week! I’m so happy that my dance poem inspired yours, especially since I know you are a much more regular and dedicated dancer than I these days. I like how the hyphenated words carry both rhythm and love.
So lovely! And the photo was so great this week, too – I meant to come back and write a poem, but sadly never did. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
How exciting. Congratulations. And what joy to be published alongside friends. Love your dancing poem. It’s perfect! Anniversary poem right there. Now get the photo to match it and create it for your wall.đź’•
Like Heidi, I could have done this! But, my mind just couldn’t handle any more than it was this week. Thanks for featuring Rhyme & Rhythm. I haven’t read much of it yet. Will need to address that asap! I like your tanka about stepping together. It’s a friend poem, love poem. Sweet.
Congratulations on the anthology! You are in esteemed company. I love your tanka … how it’s about dancing, and so much more. Thanks for sharing it!
Congratulations, Margaret! I love your two-stepping tanka in response to Heidi’s poem.
Fun response poem with so much movement too. Congrats on your poems publication Margaret!
I am late to the Poetry Friday roundup but that seems to be how things go these days. Congratulations on another publication. I really like the movement Also in your tanka. As I read it, I thought of your dancing across the floor.
Margaret, how did I miss commenting on this and congratulating you for your publication in this treasure. I just read Heidi’s whole poem “Cleatless” so your sweet response is even better. Wow! I can’t wait to buy this volume. (For now, my book list to buy is growing until I get back to the U.S.)