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POETRY
Scooting the Tube
My detailed description of scooting through a big tube — the cavern formed by a hard-breaking wave — on a Kaikoos right contained…a whiff of authenticity. I still half remember that wave. — William Finnegan
One time, in ages past,
You saw a bit of debris,
A leaf, a stick, a log,
Carried by a wave.
You wondered, what does it feel like,
To be that thing
Carried along by the ceaseless churning
That created the sand?
One of you fashioned a board,
Paddled it out,
Waited for your moment,
Chose your wave,
Stood and
Plunged immediately back into the brine.
You tried again.
You stood, crouched, for a few seconds,
Before the sea ripped the board out from under your feet.
You tried again, chasing what you felt before the crash.
You came to learn balance, fluidity,
The divine gift of your bond with the sea.
You read the winds; you skirted the shallow reefs.
You saw the surface curl,
Zipping, unzipping,
Forming a pocket,
And you…
