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October 2017

I Remember the Water and the Wind

I remember the water and the wind — in the Adirondacks, in our small blue canoe. I remember the child’s paddle in my hands, with the muscles on my back and shoulders, tense and pulsing, with each stroke. I was maintaining our position in the water because I wasn’t strong enough yet to move us forward like Dad or Mom could. I remember how the rain hit my small back and stung each time, like bee stings. And I remember fighting the two-foot waves that splashed over and into our blue canoe. I remember feeling so powerful, and invincible, even though a good wave could flip us, and even though I was five, I felt strong. I felt strong among the storm, among the bee-sting rain, among the sharp wind, among the two-foot waves that soaked me, among my little sister, three years old and scared. And I remember being within all that chaos, and thunder and lighting, and tense muscles, and strong paddle strokes, and pumping blood, and chaos. I was immersed in the water and the wind.   And I was     laughing. Callen Bailey, 12Lewisburg, WV