My oldest daughter and I went to the river, today,
Early, found a spot by 9:00, and delivered our feet
To river water! The San Francisco has been running low
For the last eight months, but, we’ve had some Monsoon
Moisture, lately, once a deluge of horrific, and beautiful,
Proportions! Ah, rain, so sweet, so deadly… Anyway,
The river’s kind of muddy, and a little high, but not too bad,
It hasn’t rained in a few days. Dragonflies flitted about,
Flashing bolder colors than rainbows pale strife, rigorously.

Imagine… A mother/daughter river day, without the ‘pesky’
Younger sister, the warmish morning air, the poplar leaves
Greened up and trembling in gratitude of rain spent. Imagine
A lunch packed, soda and water bought, open car windows,
And a winding, cliffed road that runs for seven miles, high above
The river, then stops, due to impassable dreams of a shorter road
Leading to points north, costing a million dollars a mile, long ago.
Only a few roads lead down to river freedom, and, we took a new one
I hadn’t known about, until a week or so, ago. Nirvana! Flat water
To the right, rapids to the left, fresh territory! After fifteen years…

Well, it was, Nirvana, to us, I put on my water shoes, my daughter
Did not. She had her favorite flip-flops on…Oy! I’d told her to
Wear her Dad’s rarely used ones! Okay, fine, we walked up the river
As far as we could, and tried to cross, across a short expanse
Of river dropped sand and mud. It sucked her flip-flop off of her foot!
I’d almost lost one water shoe, and there I stood, on the mud-bar, crazily
Laughing at her, it was so apropos to Mice and Men, this wasn’t what
I’d planned it to be. I could only shake my head at lessons unlearned,
She’d moved, and wasn’t sure where the flip-flop was, I didn’t either,
I wasn’t being mean, it was just funny! She couldn’t think of the angle
Of trajectory of where the sandal was, because of the panic of sucking mud.

And it was ughy, there, were she was! She used her hands, her stick and
Her bare foot to find that damn flip-flop under water. Me, I couldn’t stop
Laughing, asking her what she wanted me to do, finally went in and poked
My stick around, tried to lift sandy gravel and mud to expel her footwear.
It didn’t work. I walked back to the Tahoe to get the sandals I’d worn
To drive to the river, taking my time, glancing back, and chuckling in kind,
Still in the throes of ironic humor, but, loosening up. She gave it up, started
Walking back, I met her halfway and we lamented her loss, but, not for long.
After a short break, we were bound by decision, walk down the river, but,
Not at the bank, it was rushing too fast, creating a channel, we walked the rocks

With the lizards.

To be cont.

Erin Elizabeth Kelly-Moen
© Copyright 7/21/06