Abridged

Little Yellow Boat

I sit by the lakeside

Escaped the voices

My dog licks my feet

A mullet jumps

A little yellow boat

My Kayak, too big

Heavy and bulky but

I carry it anyway

My dog climbs aboard

'First mate Julie!" I call.

She stands guard 

as I paddle. 

We pass fish schools

Seaweed patches,

Broken shells that graze

The bottom of my boat

"Pirates!" I scream

As we pass 

An old cruiser

Its paint peeling.

I face down

Stare down

But they are

Too great 

I capsize,

My dog swims

To shore,

To stable land. 

I instead stay

Bobbing beside an 

Upturned boat

Unable to flip it right