SNAPSHOT Dave Ruslander c. 2000 ========================== We paddle into Okefenokee, clouds turn water to diluted milk. Spanish moss hangs from Cypress, tree hair in dreadlocks. A pit viper lies curled on a low bough, eye unblinking, forked tongue tasting air. So many old men of Eden in this swamp, the horizon is lost. Noisy silence captures our ears. Our awareness razor-sharp, we paddle deeper into the swamp. An alligator covers his eyes, submerges, we pass over his bubbles worried he might claim us for dinner. My skin protests the mosquitoes, angry red welts cry to be scratched. Sun bounces off spun silk, a black widow sits in wait, I watch the red hourglass she carries. White snow feathers blanket the water, we float by an Egret rookery. Mothers decked out in finest millenary. Frogs thump our eardrums, sweating and thirsty, we paddle home fulfilled. ======== ========