Musty smell of the life vest,
the humid wind whipping at our faces.
We sat idly in our boats on the lake
to bask in the warm summer afternoon.
Wide smiles flashed in our kayaks,
eyes filling with youthful curiosity.
A small group of rocks ahead
jutting up from the choppy waves.
Knocking together the boats now approached.
Our hands reaching out to the cool granite.
The black waters beneath throwing us up and down.
Our bodies tensing as we caught our breath.
Another thrusting upward the boat tilts to the side.
The contents of the kayak toppling in.
With a plop I had disappeared beneath the surface,
only to return to the surface again a moment later.
The moment of fear had passed quickly,
as I kicked and laughed in the water.
The boat was full of water and somehow
was pulled up onto the rocks to be emptied.
We both had managed our way up onto the rocks.
Both boats secured and empty now.
Peering over and down into the water
Far down we could see the faint orange color of my towel.
I took a step off and back into the water
My toes reaching down to try and feel the bottom.
No bottom was going to be felt yet.
I bobbed in the water for a while looking up at my friend.
With a deep breath I dove down into the water,
my powerful legs kicking to propel me down further.
A hand outstretched with fingers probing for the towel.
My littlest finger hooking onto the terry cloth.
The weighed down towel made my trip slow.
My body begging for a breath of air.
Somehow the power in my body had been drained.
The last few kicks seemingly taking forever.
The surface of the lake broke as I finally emerged.
I inhaled sharply and quickly reached for the rocks.
My friend helping to pull me back onto the rocks.
Exhausted I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes.
The sun eventually enveloped me and brought me comfort.
I sat up with my bikini top tied behind my neck.
Finally finding the energy I wanted to explore our refuge.
A diving board had been attached to the other side and I sat on it.
Perched on the diving board and swinging my legs,
we enjoyed our final outing of the summer.
We jeered at each other as we neared the boats again.
Both of us entering into them very carefully.
Our paddles sliced through the water
and our boats cut through the lake.
Our boats drifted up onto the sands of the beach
and we finally had ended our long adventure.
With our boats creatively strapped onto our roofs,
we drove ourselves away from the lake.
Taking with us a lot of fun memories,
which I won’t be allowed to forget.