I swim, I am free

I wrote this poem after a swim at my gym. On that day, I felt particularly grateful for having access to a pool and being able to swim. I feel physically lighter while immersed in water. Swimming also lightens my mood and transports my mind, even if briefly, to a serene state—a welcome solace on days when painful memories resurface and threaten to bring me down.

Mario Luis Cardozo is an Associate Professor of Geography at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He grew up in Brazil and Paraguay and went to school in Paraguay and the USA. Mario teaches classes on geographic techniques and human-environmental geography; his research interests include rural land use, environmental justice, urban change, and street art. In his spare time, Mario enjoys movies, writing poems, drawing, swimming, going on walks, and attending music shows.