Day 5

November 29 – A Shero poem. Diana exemplifies survival, resilience, and empowerment. She and Bonnie are 2 of my all-time Shero’s.

Diana
By Karen Keough-Huff

I watched you swim
From one destination to another
An unheard of
Impossible distance
From the Bahamas to Florida
102 miles
And then I watched you on TV
Talking about it
And I was inspired

I thought
If she can do that…
Then I can do this
My one and only
triathlon

A 1 mile swim
A 25 mile bike ride
A 10 mile run
I trained in a pool
Had a bike that was
Not a racing bike
But I could run

It started on Cape Cod
The gun went off
With 800 people
Running to the water
All at once
Kicked, punched, and swum over
I was one of the last
Out of the water

Exhausted I was but
Determined to finish
After what I had been through
I got on my rinky dink bike
Which still had a bell on it
And coasted 25 miles
Then the run
Nobody passed me as
I ran by all the swimmers and bikers
Who couldn’t run
And finished strong

A metaphor for life
Beaten, pushed around, surviving
Then coasting for years
And finally going hard and strong
To the finish line.

And much later on
I saw you try and fail
And then try and succeed
And achieve your dream
A swim from Cuba to Florida
An incredible accomplishment

And then I asked
The next generation
Have you heard of Diana Nyad?
And they said who?
So I told them
And they were amazed
And now I know it is
Our responsibility
To share the achievements
Of someone who is
So very special

A true shero
She is still inspiring us
Encouraging us to Ever Walk
To good health
Her positivity shines
In her Music Friday’s
And travel Tuesday’s
She moves us
Onward
Helping us to dream
And have hope
For a better tomorrow

 

Karen Keough-Huff has self-published 3 books and is currently working on a book of poetry.  Her background in education and in business includes curriculum and handbook writing, as well as technical writing as a documentation specialist.  She is a member of the writing sisters and co-vice president of Zonta of Quaboag Valley.