excerpt 2, draft 1
Excerpt from "Clanwilliam"
Water dances for Light’s adoration. It jumps & shifts to the sun’s applause. my toes flirt with the current. My head called upward by the baboons’ barks just past my vision. I am without a shirt and earlier I was without pants; water has a way of calming my insecurities and heightening my need for adventure.
The baboon is closer now, but I dare not get up, my patience will lure it to me. I am not the only curious creature along this riverbed.
When the sun was higher & I decided to walk the river instead of cross it, a fish came at me and shutter a shrill leapt out of my body! What gringos we giggled! Our bare toes squeezed the sand beneath our feet and our thighs prickled from the chill. Suddenly a rock came up to snatch at my leg, but it only got a bit of my shin. Silly rock :] We’d come from hiking the sacred San grounds. We scrambled up kloofs and wedged between rocks to find art from 150,000+ years ago. To find stories of treks, of birth, of killing & eating, or sex & playing, of animals & children. Each shape had been on purpose, but the seasons turned them into mere glimpses. Half remained under a crevasse, I imagine my mom would have painted these had she lived here, they were like kloof dwelling wallpaper.
The water makes way for my feet and changes its course, all the while… dancing, descending, demonstrating its majesty.
We were standing at the bank, plotting our route across. We were standing at the bank, begging the water to invite us in. It noticed and motioned us up the river. It delighted and wrapped refreshing bands of clarity around our legs, but only for a moment. we were on our own way home and didn’t remain for long. It kept tickling us. we giggled uncontrollably!
We emerged from the water’s embrace with puffed chests and childlike grins. In our skivvies. our feet triumphantly marched back to camp. Cheyenne and I were home two hours ago.
