THE DANCE. BY PAIGE SIMS
“Trim.” The whirl of the winch, the spin of the handle. “Good.” The sound of the waves rushing past, rapping the hull like a rhythmic drum verse; a pulse as we ride up the mountainous swell and surf down the other side, deep into its trough. “Trim.” Whoosh. Arms and hands a smear of gray as they spin around and around pulling in the ease on the sheet. “Trim!” “It’s me! I’m coming down, I’m coming down.” A flap of the chute, a snap really, as it settles back into position. Full and bright. A parachute tugging its charge down a watery path. “Trim.” The early morning sun is starting to wake. She stretches her glittery rays up above her head tickling the high clouds and winking a soulful “good morning!” to the rolling waters of Lake Michigan. The sailors pause a moment, faces angled to the east, embracing the golden warmth of the rays, drinking in the colors of the birth of a new morning. A moment later, the chute, indignant that it be ignored in the face of a new day, signals its displeasure with a loud snap as it folds into itself. Startled, the sailors return their attention to the roiling waters, the wind, the sway of their vessel. “Trim.”
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Blinker ✶ Summer 2021
