Runnable (Poetry, Final Draft)

“Runnable?” laughter in his eyes.
“Think so,” Plop!
Minicell foam kayaker into narrow creek bed.

Monster drop looms ahead
His heart in his throat
Horizon line broken by chaos
Floating around one rock,
Sliding around twig jam.
Magically in the deepest flow of current
Off the lip of the waterfall

“Let the river show you where to go”
Commentary on kayaker replica
Landed gracefully in the deep pool below.
“Finesse, style, patience: those guide you.”

Rearrange rocks in the creek.
He made
Trickier rapids,
Bigger hydraulics,
Swirling eddy lines,
A river in miniature
Practiced in his dreams.

Style, finesse, patience
Something that brought and kept us together
Requires so much more.
A premium on strength,
Easier to push things away.