This Is What Alone Should Be

I sat in the boat with the oars extended -- drifting with the current.

The flotsam of recent rains knocked against the hull. The sun was setting, and I was in the shadow of the cliffs that line the south side of the river just downstream of Redbud Island. A waterfall cascaded down the rocks, hidden behind trees and vines and ferns.

I bent forward to stretch.

When I sat up and began to pull again on the oars, a hawk landed on a crag near the top of the cliff. I watched it for a moment as I rowed but began to lose my balance and returned my gaze to water level.

Along the north shore, five Green Herons flew upstream. Their unmistakable squawks echoed off the cliff walls beside me.

This is a good place to be alone. Drifting with the current. Gazing at the sky. Feeling the coolness in the late afternoon shade under the cliffs. Watching hawks and swallows and wood ducks and herons. Listening to the periodic splash of a jumping fish.

---
Town Lake
Austin, Texas

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