Like Glass

Crack of dawn
Ute dam near Logan, New Mexico
Campers stir from tents
Content from previous night's 
Prairie air that enveloped them 

In their sleep through the night
They look across the reservoir
Admiring water 

Like glass.

Three campers, excited, head straight for the boat

Picking up ski's, ski belts and ski ropes

They're off and running

To the sleek, small Aristocraft

A sleek runabout

With a Mercury engine

One squeezes the fist sized bulb

On gas line between can and engine

Noting pressure in line, driver presses ignition

Sudden exhaust smell awakes senses

As driver, observer and skier make ready

Slim waist belt fastened, skier waits

As driver engages gears

Slowly, the boat moves forward

Taking up slack

Skier, in water, one foot in forward binding

Prepares

Sudden surge lifts skier up

To skim waters surface

When ski is stable on top

Skier places rear foot in binding

Cuts outside boat's wake

Checks grip

Begins series of 360 degree arcs

Back and forth, twice as fast as boat pulls

Over the boat's engine noise in the distance

Skier can hear ski slice through water

A smooth white-noise effect on surface

Like glass.

The dams steep cliffs at water's edge beckon

The skier approaches straight 

Just before ramming cliffs

Makes a sharp cut away

Leaving rooster tail that splashes the rock above

The process is repeated

Until the skiers arms tire

The rope's handle bar is dropped

Telling driver and observer

It's time for another's turn

Before day's wind

Makes the water choppy

It's a magic time

In early morning

And late evening

When winds die 

And water is smooth

Like glass.