Slowing beside Rapids

Bluer and bluer again the sky
dwarfed us
we walked, pausing
beside rushing waters
swirling eddies of multidirectional
currents
seeming a rush of unified onslaught
revealed at odds
apart
perpendicular in their
pursuit
of the downstream haven
mesmerized and wishing to
go down
down
down
without losing
self
amidst
unwelcome comrades


saved at last
we found one
hairy arachnid and
one slovenly caterpillar
to join us back on land
free from the pull
of the whirlpool
free to walk in
two straight lines
touching only
where our fingers brushed
one another