Another unedited piece. Little she-who-is took her first boat ride yesterday--a little fishing boat with small motor. I wondered what it was like from her point of view.

first, i put on a vest
that framed my face in orange.
nobody else did this.

then, i sat on a cushion,
which i gripped with two sweaty hands,
between my parents:
daddy in the stern,
one hand guiding the motor,
mommy in the bow
with a smile
that flickered concern
each time the lake spat at us.

the motor growls loudest
at low speeds,
but rattles my teeth
at full throttle,
so daddy turned it off
and we rocked
like giddyup horsie,
prancing across
a wrinkled sheet of light.

for the trip back
I sat in mommy’s lap
and we faced the wind together.
daddy went faster and faster
and mommy gripped harder and harder
and i closed my eyes tighter and tighter
but i opened them now and then and realized
i could trust them both, and the boat,
and the water.