{"id":729,"date":"2025-05-21T19:03:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T19:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/msbrazelton.wpenginepowered.com\/?page_id=729"},"modified":"2026-06-02T19:22:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T19:22:58","slug":"swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reflection by Normand Carrey<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

Kevin had asked me to submit a poem and I chose Jack Gilbert\u2019s Flying and Failing but I also thought, what the heck, I\u2019ll throw in one of my own; so hopefully Kevin will not regret his decision. I\u2019ve been working on the poem for ten years now, perhaps longer, it\u2019s one\u00a0 of those long suffering poems. \u00a0I enjoy swimming but I can\u2019t help but panic a little when I start thinking about how deep the Lake may be; I try to use my rational mind but the fear is always there, nudging me.\u00a0 And while the analogy between the water as a \u201cLake of twisting gravity\u201d and the fear of drowning as opposed to water as the life-sustaining enveloping amniotic membrane may be obvious, I had not connected the two meanings together. It was not until I took my NBO and NBAS training and then dealing with babies emerging \u201cfresh out of the womb\u201d that suddenly the poem acquired that extra layer of meaning. I\u2019ve been told that newborns naturally don\u2019t have a fear of water until they get older. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Swimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Normand Carrey<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a lake close to city confines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

where I swim easily shore to shore,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

not beguiling like an English Channel or a Lake Ontario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve swam it, -have I told you this?- several times before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I dip toe in water and start<\/p>\n\n\n\n

without crossing myself, a superstition<\/p>\n\n\n\n

drowning in possibilities always dwells<\/p>\n\n\n\n

near the surface, drives the survival<\/p>\n\n\n\n

through my rippling arms and legs,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and the avuncular breathing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muscular anxiety propels through me<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and forward, and,\u2026 Relax, everything will be ok<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

one voice, I think my mother\u2019s, tells me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I\u2019m adult now, I can measure risk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never leave the boat,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

your uncle, he was their best swimmer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

panicked, drowned, <\/em>I think father\u2019s,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bubbles up from the viscous depths<\/p>\n\n\n\n

childhood\u2019s pool of repressed lakes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

tangled in weeds near the shore.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crossing is successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I emerge from the water,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

stretch on the table rock<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and let the granite sheet\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

villainous fingers massage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

tetanic muscle, fraying nerve,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but I, for attention, compete against<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you, the Lake, centre of twisting gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I return later in the season,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

end of a balmy Indian summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water still warm, tempting me<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come in<\/em>, but no one is around<\/p>\n\n\n\n

last chance to swim this season,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

should I still swim?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one is around, Come in!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m an adult now, I can measure risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I start, reach the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many feet is deep?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re a good swimmer<\/em>, but I\u2019m not relaxing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the avuncular breathing <\/p>\n\n\n\n

pressing hard for advantage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on its trail of ridden return,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

under my chest wall\u2019s gallop<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then I stop kicking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your successive warm amnion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

waves, rock and soothe me<\/p>\n\n\n\n

like inside, fruitful womb, expectant mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Momentarily I catch a glimpse, the allantois<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the fluidity of the other side, the changing absolute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I resurface to turn and go back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the distance the clasping limbs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of your shore trees, beach boulders<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and tangle weeds round the sound, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

all proclaim in a soft parade <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until the next crossing, our next visit.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flying and Failing by Jack Gilbert<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Jack Gilbert<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s the same when love comes to an end,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

or the marriage fails and people say<\/p>\n\n\n\n

they knew it was a mistake, that everybody<\/p>\n\n\n\n

said it would never work. That she was<\/p>\n\n\n\n

old enough to know better. But anything<\/p>\n\n\n\n

worth doing is worth doing badly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like being there by that summer ocean<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on the other side of the island while<\/p>\n\n\n\n

love was fading out of her, the stars<\/p>\n\n\n\n

burning so extravagantly those nights that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

anyone could tell you they would never last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every morning she was asleep in my bed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

like a visitation, the gentleness in her<\/p>\n\n\n\n

like antelope standing in the dawn mist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each afternoon I watched her coming back<\/p>\n\n\n\n

through the hot stony field after swimming,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the sea light behind her and the huge sky<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on the other side of that. Listened to her<\/p>\n\n\n\n

while we ate lunch. How can they say<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the marriage failed? Like the people who<\/p>\n\n\n\n

came back from Provence (when it was Provence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and said it was pretty but the food was greasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe Icarus was not failing as he fell,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but just coming to the end of his triumph.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reflection by Normand Carrey Kevin had asked me to submit a poem and I chose Jack Gilbert\u2019s Flying and Failing …Read More<\/b><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":87,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-729","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSwimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey - Brazelton Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Swimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey - Brazelton Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reflection by Normand Carrey Kevin had asked me to submit a poem and I chose Jack Gilbert\u2019s Flying and Failing ...Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brazelton Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-02T19:22:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DrCarrey28129-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/poetry-and-practice\\\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/poetry-and-practice\\\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\\\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey - Brazelton Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/poetry-and-practice\\\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/poetry-and-practice\\\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/DrCarrey28129-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-21T19:03:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-02T19:22:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/poetry-and-practice\\\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/poetry-and-practice\\\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/poetry-and-practice\\\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/DrCarrey28129-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/DrCarrey28129-scaled.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/poetry-and-practice\\\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NBI Community\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Poetry and Practice\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/nbi-community\\\/poetry-and-practice\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Swimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Brazelton Institute\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Brazelton Institute\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Brazelton_Institute_BCH_logo_Horz@2x.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Brazelton_Institute_BCH_logo_Horz@2x.png\",\"width\":865,\"height\":177,\"caption\":\"Brazelton Institute\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Swimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey - Brazelton Institute","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/","og_locale":"es_ES","og_type":"article","og_title":"Swimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey - Brazelton Institute","og_description":"Reflection by Normand Carrey Kevin had asked me to submit a poem and I chose Jack Gilbert\u2019s Flying and Failing ...Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/","og_site_name":"Brazelton Institute","article_modified_time":"2026-06-02T19:22:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1707,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DrCarrey28129-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/","url":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/","name":"Swimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey - Brazelton Institute","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DrCarrey28129-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-21T19:03:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-02T19:22:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DrCarrey28129-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DrCarrey28129-scaled.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/swimming-the-consciousness-of-long-lake-by-normand-carrey\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NBI Community","item":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Poetry and Practice","item":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/nbi-community\/poetry-and-practice\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Swimming the Consciousness of Long Lake by Normand Carrey"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/","name":"Brazelton Institute","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/#organization","name":"Brazelton Institute","url":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Brazelton_Institute_BCH_logo_Horz@2x.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Brazelton_Institute_BCH_logo_Horz@2x.png","width":865,"height":177,"caption":"Brazelton Institute"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/729\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/87"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brazeltoninstitute.childrenshospital.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}