I only meant to dip a toe in
The water looked so peaceful
So inviting
So I edged closer and closer
At every step checking to see
If it was really me
To whom the river beckoned
Step
By step
Until toes met water
So crisp and cool
The lap of gentle waves against bare skin
And still the river called
A little further
A little deeper
And I answered
Edging out away from the shore
The river didn’t look that wide
Didn’t look that deep
The other bank only a stone’s throw away
How lovely to wade across and emerge on the other bank
Refreshed by the brisk kiss of water on skin
Step
By step
By —

Empty space where there should have been riverbed
Balance lost, pitching forward
Head underwater
Into the channel
Into the current
And all at once
Swept away
A moment of panic
Floundering for equilibrium
And then
Peace
Amidst the thrill of being caught
In the water’s flow
A germ of an idea
Building
Swelling
Like a growing wave on the current
Maybe where the water is carrying me
Is a place
I want
To be