no paddle, no problem

I’m still up shit’s creek,

But now I have a paddle;

I’ve lost some weight too,

So I don’t have to waddle.

The shit piled so high and deep,

I couldn’t see my shoes;

They had long since been lost,

While I was trying to wade though.

I had pulled up my bootstraps,

I had even bought some waders;

But don’t you know that shitty water,

Was chock full of alligators!

Swimming wasn’t an option,

I wouldn’t have gotten far;

Stuck in a ‘gator’s belly,

Like a specimen in a jar.

I had to find a boat,

Or at least make a raft;

Shit creek it was a risin’,

It was coming up mighty fast.

I had a second hand kayak,

I thought I could make do;

I jumped in and pushed off,

But I forgot a thing or two.

It would have been easier,

If I’d had a damn canoe;

It’s a lot smoother sailing,

When there is me plus you.

I also forgot my paddles,

Left them on the shore;

The current was too strong,

Going back an impossible chore.

So I stuck my hands in the crap,

And used them to gain some traction;

Got into the current,

Felt momentary satisfaction.

Pulled into a rip tide,

Ain’t going with the flow;

It’s buckle up and hang on,

You’re gonna see a show.

Sailing uncharted waters,

Really sucked at first;

I wondered is this a blessing,

Or is it more a curse?

Back to the beginning,

A place I’d been before;

I thought being back there,

Would be another mindless bore.

Imagine my surprise,

Enjoying something new;

At least it afforded me,

A different point of view.

Slowly I began to realize,

There were less dips and swells;

Every morning I no longer felt,

Like I was waking up in hell.

I found a tiny sand bar,

An island amidst the stream;

Clinging on fiercely,

Surrounded by fading dreams.

Someone had left a paddle,

And a long discarded boat;

And in someone else’s discards,

I found a shred of hope.

Now I have at my command,

The instrument of my own salvation;

The only question that now remains,

What shall be my ultimate destination?

Leslie Bertrand

©️Paradoxical Phoenix

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