FLATWATER KAYAK

I have seen clouds
underwater

watched
them swim across
sunken boulders
robed in flowing sleeves
of green

gazed at
hawks in the depths
gliding beside
shadows
of smallmouth bass.

I have seen the tip
of a paddle
break this world
apart
with a careless splash.

Besides poetry and short fiction, Ken Hines has written a series of essays on the contradictions of capitalism and Christianity in American life (Barrelhouse, The Millions, Pendora, Philosophy Now). He lives in Richmond, VA.