RIPTIDE!
Desperate
handholds
On
knobby corals
Ripped
from my grasp!
I'm
surging backward,
Out
of control!
Arms
flailing,
Reef-shod
feet useless,
I'm
being sucked out
Beyond
the break!
I
watch the bottom drop
Below
me, speeding out
Through
the arms of reef
Into
the wave-swept ocean.
Fish
darting beneath me,
10
feet, 15, 30!
Breathing
- heavy, edging to panic;
Shouting
for help! Waving!
People
walking on the beach,
People
in the lagoon,
Not
hearing me, not seeing me!
Imagining
the current carrying me
Out
to sea in the fast-coming night,
Imagining
big fish out here,
It's
shark feeding time!
Here's
fear - breathe!
O!
God! Help me!
O!
God! Help me Now!
Big
wave coming!
Picking
me up,
Hurtling
towards shore,
Flowing
me on
To
the rounded reef...
Grabbing,
latching on
For
dear life!
Pulled
back again,
Mouthpiece
torn away,
Swallowing
water, gasping!
Now,
surging to safety again....
It's
Over! I'm safe!
And
so thankful!
Maruru! Maruru!
LiLi
Townsend
March
2000
Note
from LiLi:
Riptide captures a moment of profound Letting Go!
And a moment of restoration of Trust in my Creator!
Sometimes these tests propel us to the next level of
Knowing Our Connectedness beyond question.
The original version of this poem was written in the
first shocked moments after my return to land.....
Bloody fingerprints mark the page!
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