Kayakcident

Come boating with us,
 tomorrow, she implored
 I, by my nature, am not a water baby, but
 decide I need to stretch my spontaneity
 Ever cautious and wanting to sleep on it
   by morning I call to say: sounds like a grand idea!

 I am instructed to bring a swim suit,
  attire I have not worn in years

  Digging through a drawer, I find
 an old black bikini botto
 and supplement it with
a black, French-cut brassiere
 I’ve found that nobody’s the wiser,
  if you omit informing them.

 As I drive in I see that
 my friends Bob and Angie have\
a well-built vintage 19 foot wood boat,
  and Angie’s little 9 foot blue kayak
 attached tightly to the boat trailer
  Glorious hot day in the nineties
  Refreshing cool breeze on the Lewis River

  which is for the most part calm,

 smooth as an empty dinner platter
  except for the occasional level 1-2 rapids

 Angie paddles along, exploring the bank                       
 at her own pace, as Bob throws out a fish line
 and casually trolls for a bite Bob and I chat
 about politics and the economy
 We slide easily through a length of rapids

                        thinking nothing of it

  Then Angie offers me the kayak
and the adventuress in me burbles: Yes!
   I should interject here and now:
 First time in a kayak!
 The first rapids go by okay as I get
   my sea legs, by the second I am
   almost cocky

   It’s the third set, which increase to level 4
 that are hell-bent on humbling me and indeed they do!
  The consensus is that the wood boat

 will take the lead, as the water bucks high
 about the time they struggle with a whirlpool
    and holler: Back paddle!    which I was trying to do
 The kayak slams into the larger boat,
 pulled down in the swirling cool water
  my eyes open, it is crystalline and refreshing, 
holding my breath instinctively,
 there is no gasping or fear 
I simply propel myself up and
  grab a big root ball

 The kayak, wedged into the root ball
 is clearly stuck

 Angie yells at me to swim away
 or the whirlpool will pull me down
 The kayak paddle on one wrist
 big straw hat in other hand 
I   kick, mightily
as the current sweeps me like a buoyant
leaf, downstream

 Kicking for all I am worth
 I cover a football field’s length diagonally,
 before my feet find the rocky bottom
 So exhausted and grateful
 for the loaned life vest
 understanding in a heartbeat
how people’s lives are swallowed by rivers

   Wading back to the island
    I rejoin my friends 
who are ready to abandon their kayak
 saying: It is too dangerous
 to retrieve
 I hear myself say: We can at least try!
 We try lassoing it, to no avail
 Then a hero happens along
 and wrestles it off the root ball

 Joining him on the opposite shore,

 Bob gives the man $50 bucks
We notice he could use it
 to replace his inflatable kayak that punctured
 during the rescue

  As we make our way back home
  both Angie and Bob say:
You should have back-paddled!
  I hold my piece, thinking:
  Good Lord, it was my first time in
  a kayak! I was barely getting the hang
  of paddling forward!
  I do feel responsible and
  fork over my $50 emergency fund
   to Bob to make amends
  Angie says: I hope this doesn’t ruin
  kayaking for you in the future.
  I assure her that it will not
 all the while thinking fondly of  my bicycle…

-summer 2011