A far-seeing eye doesn't see the future, only the next step.

The last step is a wide gap, from tall rock to smaller stone,
where the river picks up speed: one foot slipped between
rocks. Losing balance, I fell backwards into "ardent water."

You take the water that's still and the water that
flows, and all the things in the water, and bring
them back here, within you, where they belong.

Stood up and walked home, everything dark wet.
Trees leaned in and rocks turned over, exposing
their mossy side.

 

 

ardent water: G. Ripley (1415?-1490) From, "Calcination: The First Gate.”
You take: D. Pine, (Ojibway Elder of the Garden River First Nation.) Quoted in, A.G. Ruffo, “We Have Been Undressing Too Long: An Indigenous Ecology.” ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment. Spring 2018. (Slightly altered.)