My Mind Wanders in Shavasana

kayaking      my childhood summer lake   
     view from the water reveals     screen-doors     small
private docks     folding aluminum chairs     adults
     in pajamas     drinking coffee     or beer     as sunrise fades    
blue imbues a mackerel sky     less becomes more with the oar
     my course     determined by loons

tailing the winch on my then-boyfriend’s sloop
     short handle for fickle winds     the jib responds
like a hooked fish     a moment of tilt and speed
     through the chop     salt lapping stern     toward
a bobbling turtle     trajectory of whale
     double arc of dolphins

rowing synchronized with seven others
     while coxswain commands     muscles pressured
in parallel sweep     our rhythm against the river’s
     my back to our goal     measuring progress
          by furrows of wake

I assume the perspective of a hovering gull
     my strained shoulders      now effortless wings
I look down to see the entire boat as if a leaf
     eight oars symmetrical veins     tipped with white
splash-dots    motion made motionless     the struggle of the race
gone     why did I want to win?     the fastest flying is still

on my mottled blue mat     in a dim room
     hands above my head     thumb touching thumb
one leg straight     one knee bent     I can’t tell if I am
     right side up     or upside down 

published in Writing in a Woman’s Voice