Afternoon Dip in Swift River off the Kancamagus Highway

A poem

If I must,
I will take your clear,
chlorinated,
sterile excuse for a swim,

but give me a swift,
stony,
cold stream
tumbling
rain-filled
from the mountains
tempting me
from the roadside
on a hot, sunny
August afternoon.

I won’t even bother
to change into
my swimming trunks
just strip my shirt and shoes
and plunge in with a shocked yelp
then a satisfied sigh.

I’ll soak in the current and survey
the cliffs and clouds
the trees and far hazy mountains
the sky and sounds of water over rocks
and count myself rich
for such free and abundant gifts.