Swan Dive

Swan Dive is a metaphor in title. The serene bird and the writer.

Alike in their graces as seen by their peers; alike too in the unease of their veiled dispositions.

She skims the surface of a tranquil pond, often with her mate for life. Necks entwined or face to face to form a perfect heart in the moonlight. Seemingly effortless, she weathers all climate and rarely takes flight. Serene and strong; all amaze in her glory.

And yet, a sharp decline at times, into the still waters. Here, where it's dark and silent, she does her toiled work of forage; rooting deep beneath the surface in a fretful twist of feather and beak; a ferocious weilding of webbed feet, fighting to balance what is now askew. Cold there and breathless. A place unknown. Only to surface again.

Or off the highest board she freefalls, arms outstretched like a glider; gawking eyes on her form from the poolside. The plunge. Hit bottom. Fierce climb toward light. To the applause. To the podium.
And life is just like that.

A Swan Dive