Take-Off
Rohan Buettel
There is a moment, paddling
to catch a swell, when time stands still,
that instant when you feel the surge
beneath the board, and know you’re on it,
you’re on the train accelerating away
with chest full of oxygen and light,
heart in mouth, hands down, torso rising
as feet snap forward to place flat on deck
in perfect balance, speeding down
and across the wave, exhilaration
inside and intense focus on the face.
Rohan Buettel
Rohan Buettel lives in Canberra, Australia. His haiku appear in Australian and international journals (including Presence, Cattails and The Heron’s Nest). His longer poetry appears in various journals, including Rattle, The Goodlife Review, Meanjin, Meniscus and Quadrant.