First River Reflection:

I took a deep breath and sat on the weathered wooden park bench. Sweat dripped down my back as a result to the 97-degree heat. I was so glad to have made it to the shade and finally sitting down.

            A refreshing breeze blew my bangs infront of my eyes. I smiled and leaned back to enjoy my view. Staring at the river, it calmly flowed towards my left as a beautiful white bird perched elegantly on, what seemed to be, a sand dune. It looked so serene and I wondered how it was not uncomfortably hot, but suddenly it jolted up and flew a feet away submerging its body into the cool water. It looked refreshed. From then on, the bird never stopped moving-swimming, flying, fishing.

            My attention shifted as a biker flew in front of me. She gave a quick “hey” without turning her helmeted head. She was dressed in typical “biker” clothing- fitted hot pink shirt and black biking shorts. She looked like a professional. That is until I saw what was attached to the back of her thin tires—a baby trailer. A baby trailer filled with two fluffy white dogs. Happiest dogs I have ever seen. Sitting in the shade, wind in their hair. They definitely turned and smiled at me.

            A dragonfly that was about the size of my palm flew a few feet in front of my face then it made its way over the curved sidewalk and to its way to the river. The initial buzzing sound always makes me jump in fear for my life. To me, bugs should never get that big.

            Trees lined both sides of the river. One side provided me much needed shade and the other a dark green curtain. The trees seemed to dance together as one with the wind as the choreographer, but there was one small break. One tree stood limp with no leaves. Because of the break in the leaves, a small sliver of life past the sheet of green could be spotted. I squinted and noticed that behind the big beautiful trees laid a perfectly manicured green of golf. Then I suddenly saw a golf cart park right in my view and two young men got out and began putting. I heard a soft “swoosh” off in the distance.

            The rhythmic army-green water recaptured my attention. It made me think back to my days of elementary dance class. Every week we would focus on an object and how it moved. One week was water and we explored moving our bodies as water along with a huge piece of blue fabric. We made ripples just like the river in front of me, but this river had more ridges from the opposing wind force. It made for a beautiful contrast. Then I spotted a turtle. It was about the size of our classroom clock. It dipped up and down in the water but never side-to-side so the current swept it along with a few straight lines of yellow pollen. It almost looked like a conveyer belt: the trees stayed still but the water, never changing in appearance, simply moved at a constant speed.

I shifted my view to my right. The acorn-stained pavement twisted and wound to the end of my sight. A man-made dam congested the smooth-flowing river. The path continued to a bridge sat in the distance with cars zooming over it constantly. I could see them but not hear them. Instead, I heard a train run behind me.

By this time, I had caught my breath. The air did not feel as hot to me; instead, it seemed to be a warm day with a cool breeze. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The smell of mossy water filled my nose. I opened my eyes and stared again at the murky water. I could see the reflections of the big trees clear as day.

Two more friendly bikers passed and chirped a friendly hello.

I then spotted a mom and baby turtle swimming right at the surface of the water. The mom led slowly as the baby bobbed up and down following the trail of its mother. With that, a small smile formed on my face and I was about ready to leave.