How to Lose an Hour on a Paddle Board

Poem by Jean Janicke

Stretch out on this watery hammock.
Stretch out your toes to the shore,
sure the sun will toast you, toe to head,
head to toe. Grasp a wooden post
by slender string, hold on by a pinky,
tethered to the talk from deck chairs.

Wave bumps the board to thump the dock,
pops atop submerged stones. Splashed shore rocks
plop like the first bubble to a boil. Is this
the sound of water when it resists?
Somewhere nearby a lawnmower crunkles
as it hits sticks, its drone drowned out

when someone stumbles down
the stone steps, shouts
“I just saw a snake”
All eyes on the dock
look up, but seeing no slither,
gazes return to the pages
of history, mystery.

Jean Janicke writes, dances, and works in Washington, DC. Her work has appeared in Paddler Press, Yellow Arrow Journal, and Instant Noodles.

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