Sometimes life closes in and it seems like all is work and kids and house and bills and responsibilities, etc... So I went paddleing down the Cowichan river in winter swell after the recent rains. While there the fresh air breaths new life in and old cob webs out. I begin to reflect on my varous paddleing adventures and author this poem. I've paddled in alqonquin, and north Ontario I've seen the mist rise of the lakes Tom Tompson used to know. I have paddled the St. Laurence, I've heard Niagara's falls I've paddled north Saskatchewan, I've heard the wild loon calls. I've paddle in the dead of night, with stars and moon so bright, I've paddled 'neath the moving curtain of aurora's light. I have seen the Northwest passage, from the Arctic Ocean shore, I've rested on an iceberg there, with paddle muscles sore. I am a paddle junky, I paddle hard and long, I'll swing my paddle to the cadence of this paddle song, 'cause no mater when or where I've gone, there's water I've been on. I've paddled the Queen Charlotte's, and through the broken group, I've poked my boat 'round sheltered islands in a weekend loop. I have paddled with the porpoise, and with the killer whale, and If you've never paddled there, these words to you will fail. I've seen a flaming moon rise up to fill a starlit sky, I've watched the swirling phosphorescence trail as I glide by. I have paused my boat where raptors rise up seeking altitude, I've seen them dive before my eyes, for the herring multitude. I am a paddle junky, I paddle hard and long, I'll swing my paddle to the cadence of this paddle song, 'cause no mater when or where I've gone, there's water I've been on. I've sworn at myself for getting caught in winds to stiff to fight, for being in an ocean swell, where I should've taken flight. I rode the mighty Fraser, felt it swirl into a well, and from the safety of the shore I've watched the gates of hell. The water always calls me, I feel it tug inside, I've never had enough of it, it's courses I must ride. And when this paddle trip of life is getting near to land, I only hope I'm paddling still, my bent shaft still in hand. I am a paddle junky, I paddle hard and long, I'll swing my paddle to the cadence of this paddle song, 'cause no mater when or where I've gone, there's water I've been on. F. Bosma Consulting Fred Bosma 1165 Briarwood Drive Cobble Hill B.C. V0R 1L0 Phone: 250-743-6061 Fax: 250-743-6051 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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