The meaning of swimming

Kyra, Just for you if you wish, I will touch a couple fish! In the water I may dance, But won't swim any distance! brrrrrrrr! hahaha Swimmy :) DON"T TOUCH "EM!!! That's the worst part!!! They wriggle....and *shiver* EWWWWW...I finally figured out it's mostly the wriggling that bothers me.....yuck...I cant' even type about it.....

The 50 fly Is the event to try SDK and pull and kick Of the medals I have my pick The best part is through distance swims I do not have suffer I just lift weights and I get buffer What is that silly frog like stroke I think it was invented as a joke Streamline, kick, go like hell Wow, my PB just fell On it’s shoulder building benefits I am not a hard sell What is better than swimming this stroke well Swimmers like Jenny, Ian, and Mike Are the ones that I most like They swim fly not that silly *** They swim fly because of the strokes it is the best Now I'm on a role ...

i am honored to be in this poem thank you fort, ande New Poem By The Fortress (Set to the cadence of The Night Before Christmas): ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE NATIONALS “Twas the night before Nationals and all through the states. Not a swimmer was stirring, not even their mates. Their practices were swum in the pool with great care. In hopes that PBs soon would be there. We swimmers were trying to taper and rest. We aspired to pass the pressure-filled test. We had purchased our fastskins, water repellent and new. The price tag was staggering, but still they did woo. We had started to dream ‘bout swimming stars past. When into our dreams a resounding voice blast. We jerked up our head and said “Who can it be?” We awakened and squinted icon Ande. He of the glorious “tips” he did share. He of the “Ask Ande” thread b’yond compare. It was Ande, the master swimmers’ Saint Nick. Who coached us to pace, to split and to kick. Ande insisted we all could swim faster. If we fully embraced the rage to master. He said, “Onward, let’s go” to Geek and to Gull. To Peter, to George to Terry – none dull. As soon as we heard him, without even trying. The spirit to swim came a flippin' and flyin'. We dolphins were happy with grins on our faces. We hoped to perform well to earn first rate places. We all had our flu shots and avoided infection. We had practiced our SDKs to perfection. We’d drilled and swum FAST in both practice and meets. We timed out kick sets to the very last beat. We thought evil thoughts of our secret nemeses. We plotted their defeat with guile and ease. We had lifted our weights and even cross-trained. Though quite controversial, it left us less pained. Our starts had improved, our turns were a glory. Especially for masters folk, both nimble and hoary. Proper splitting had now become quite routine. As had the use of the VASA machine. We’d hated the breaststroke, despised butterstruggle. If the Dictators ruled, swimming would be all a muddle. We dutifully went to our PT appointments. We did ART, got massages and practiced deportment. We’d gulped down our vitamins, CoQ and guarine. For those with sore shoulders: Glucosamine! We logged onto the forum all night and all day. The battles ‘tween posters intrigued us to stay. We faithfully read Ande’s daily swim blog. With an espresso in hand, , it helped clear the fog. We named our pet peeves and aired out our rants. Everyone agreed: There shall be no “can’ts.” But ‘tween fights and good humor, training tips prevailed. When practice made perfect, our coaches regaled. The head guru, Ande, told us it was time. We’d put enough yardage and sprints in to shine. So he grabbed up his giftbag and poured out more presents. We shouted our thanks for his omnipresence. Then we heard Ande ‘xclaim as he faded from sight. Happy laps to you all and keep up the good fight.

My first thought after reading that was... I think if I had to swim straight for an hour On swimming I would become very sour

Welcome back Swimmy....Love the new ode to swimming!......The polar bear plunge sounds painful! Welcome Ande!! Its about time you came over here and treated us to some of your lyrics!.....also welcome to Muppet....Love the lyrics....please share more. Newmastersswimmer

Wow, I blink an eye and come back to see such a creative explosion on this thread....I am so loving this new ressurgence of energy on this old thread! I really hope it will continue for a while because I am really enjoying reading all these great new poems! ....and even Heather has now gotten into the act. I must say that your first attempts at swimming poetry are very impressive Heather! I also want to say that it is great to hear from Sonic again although I am really sorry to hear about these unfortunate problems you are having right now....Just remember Sonic, that we will always be here to support you no matter what....Like it or not, you are a permanent member of our "twisted USMS family" (as Kyra puts it). I hope that you have still been able to produce some of that terrific music you use to make and stay in touch with those other awesome bands like the nuclear bubblewrap (Did I say that right??). You have a great talent for that Sonic.....If you have an recent musical creations, perhaps you could share some of them with us sometime? Newmastersswimmer

What?? No mention of me coming back to the forums?? :P ...Nah, I'm just messing with ya, NewMastersSwimmer, it's all good. I just bought $360.00 worth of college books and I'm a little depressed because of it. Most of the money was spent on a Math book, too.

Like when I swim them :) I'm sorry. I've been resisting for awhile and I just can't anymore...the set up.....so good....... It's not bragging if it's the truth Kyra. That illegitimate child of a stroke, Butterfly, is obviously a cakewalk for you, thanks to you powerful, deity-like Breaststoker's build.

It certainly doesn't hurt Rich. :) Sometimes my arms hit my ego during free and fly, which is why I swim breaststroke so I can recover underneath it.....

But soft! What record on yonder scoreboard breaks? It is the 200 ***, and Brendan just won! Unite fellow breaststrokers and retaliate Against those who are sick with envy Please be another record broken For there is only one true stroke. Tis the most noble and virtuous of all Only fools do see naught, and cast it aside. Tis the right stroke. O Tis my beloved! Only if all knew the truth So strong through elegance Unseen yet so strong Be not bold yet silently powerful The fairest of all do swim such a stroke Being so glorious, A gentle ripple Following in the wake. What if that wake were bigger It would put shame to the gentle nature So soft and smooth As an angel descending from Heaven Would seem to the unenlightened a chore That they cast aside it's true demenor. See how that records shines! Oh that that record were mine So that I could bestow it's glory to all. that's an outstanding peice of prose there Seagurl....Shakespeare would've been impressed! Newmastersswimmer p.s. Oh and thanks for the kind words about my avatar S(he) Man I saw that you posted another poem about your workout buddy Beth over on another thread. I was hoping that you could share more of your poetic talents over here as well? Don't you guys think she should do that?...(back me up here guys).