Paddling the Sweet Spot
Starting with deep powerful strokes
Direct your paddleboard on a diagonal
In between the edges of waves,
The sweet spot not easy to maintain.
Paddleboarding on Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park in Washington state by Laura E. Garrard.
When you’ve found that rhythm
A meditative state claims you.
You glide faster with ease,
Meld into the narrow exception
Of movement against the current,
Making headway until you notice
You’re in the sweet spot,
Veer slightly, then lose it.
©️ 2023 Laura E. Garrard
This poem was first published in Tidepools Magazine and also now appears in Laura E. Garrard’s debut book, Paddling the Sweet Spot Between Life and Death. Laura E. Garrard is a Pushcart Prize nominee and a multiple myeloma thriver living in the Northwest.