Blue Canoe

 
     Beside the pond lays a blue canoe, resting and waiting.  Waiting on a boy who went off to become a man; the same boy who paddled to the middle of the pond and stood up to cast his lure far across the water where a fish effortlessly hovers in the shady water. Motionless the fish waits for the boy to cast the lure which will land with a splash and get his attention. The same fish that with a swish of his tail will shoot to the top of the water and opening his mouth wide will suck in the lure as he launches himself out of the water and into the air quickly arcing sideways to the right and then to the left before giving into the power of gravity and falling back into the water thus exciting the boy. The same boy who will enjoy the fight as he reels in and lands the fish and who with great skill removes the hook from the fish and pulls out his phone to take a picture to document the victory over the fish, the pond, and nature itself before gently releasing the fish back into the shadows of the water.
      On the couch lays a dog, resting and waiting.  Waiting on a boy who went off to become a man; the same boy who talks to the dog in a high pitched friendly voice so that the dog who had been curled up asleep raises his head and frantically beats the cushion with his tail, happy to be loved by the boy who rescued him and gave him a home.  The same dog that now rises and stretches and wags his tail and wags his body and smiles showing his teeth and rubs himself up against the boy.  The same boy who pets the dog and rubs his back and talks to the dog as if he understood every word; the same boy who shares a happy moment with the dog he calls his own.
      In a room lays a hat, sunglasses and a pair of boots, resting and waiting.  Waiting on a boy who went off to become a man; the same boy who wore the hat, the glasses and the boots that became his style, his look and told the world who he was.  These are the same hat and sunglasses and boots that took long naps with the boy and rode horses and went on hunting trips and even to school. The same hat and sunglasses and boots that that now sit on the floor of his darkened room and makes tears well up in his momma’s eyes when she suddenly sees them while putting away laundry.
      In a little house on a small farm a family is restless and impatiently waiting.  Waiting to see the boy who went off to become a man; the boy with whom so many memories have been made.  The same boy who left home and will return as a man; the man who will see that his family are overjoyed at his return and are ready to live life making more memories together.  The same man who will love his family and be loved by them.  The same man who will return home to once again paddle the blue canoe and catch the fish and pet his dog and wear his hat and sunglasses and boots, but until that day comes, a blue canoe lays resting and waiting beside the pond.