2000

by Rich Furman

As we paddle out on Lake One
Our noggins bakin’ in the broiling sun
We pull our paddles through water and muck and swill.
We find the portage to Confusion Lake
Maybe I’ll be givin’ my arms a break
But they don’t like carryin’ the boat up and down the hill.
Confusion lake sure lives up to its name,
The way those maps lie is a cryin’ shame
But we find the portage before goin’ over the drop.
We carry on down to a quiet pool,
The Upper Kawishiwi sure is cool,
We run a Class I and then for lunch we stop.
Gorp and fruit leather taste oh so sweet,
But mosquitoes begin to attack our feet
So we swat and we swear and we get up and get under way
The hard ash seat makes my rear end sore
The tired stern paddler starts to roar,
But a sign in the heavens makes us grateful for the day.
There’s a rainbow high above starboard bow
And all we can really think about now
Is the beauty of the sun as it lights the sky aflame.
As we sideslip up to our campsite
Dusk surrenders to the starry night
And the stars Noah saw and we see are same.
So if you ask me why I come out here
To carry a canoe and all kinds of gear
The answer, my friend, is it’s medicine for the soul
It’s shaking free of space and time
It’s remembering after all that I’m
Just a little piece of this big world as a whole.