Briefly

Seven things
now lost.
Hug the midline
she says.
I am reaching
as far as I can
over the side
of the canoe.
It gets
tippy this way.

Hug the midline
she says.
I get it
and don't do it.

Get up.
Get back up. You know
how to walk
all the way to the back
holding a cushion
and a paddle
without having to hold
onto the sides. You could
do it
with your eyes closed.
So familiar. The feel of that.

Seven things lost.
Six things found.
Twenty six. Twenty seven. Twenty eight.
Its just counting.
Out loud
its actually
a pleasing sound.

Hug the midline
she says.
I will. I will again.