last day of summer
went out to the jetty after work
sun just starting to dip down
golden warm, light breeze
paddled out at the channel
then headed north to bunkers
one or two people were up there
caught a nice one right off the bat
was thinking, is that it?
decided to try to paddle straight back out
saw a dark shadow take off on one right in front of me
made it out again unscathed
but a little awed by the wild power
paddled over one big beauty
a majestic green peak
it just came rolling in out of the blue depths
another guy was there
we both just stared
he said he'd seen my last wave
it felt good to be acknowledged
we waited briefly then he caught one
and I caught one after
my leash got tangled on my foot
somehow instinctively
I navigated a bottom turn
and rode the wall without falling
gilded all the way in
then belly boarded the sea foam to shore
walked back to the car
full of stoke and adrenaline
hoping someone might have seen it all
then laughing at my adolescent folly
got back to the parked cars
helped a woman
load a motorcycle into her truck
got into my warm dry clothes
strapped on the board
turned on giants radio
and drove through the dunes
heading home for dinner

Matt Durham