The Surfer Knows

The surfer sits, straddling the board, slowly moving up and down with the swell as mountains of green water shift beneath in the unfathomed deep. Greenmount, where the big set brings the perfect break off the point, but ever long is the interminable delay between sets. The surfer knows disappointment. After a patient wait, the missed chance for a big wave; the frustrating pull-out when a better positioned rider has right of way; wiped out due to a poor choice; caught in the impact zone. Sitting there on a perfect day, warm sun on the back, legs dangling in cool water, facing open ocean, watching flat planes of sea tilting, as if a Cezanne painting is floating out of its frame. Feeling at one with sea and sky, dissolving into the natural world. From the corner of an eye, a dark shadow torpedoes near the surfer’s feet. Heart pumps, blood races, adrenalin kickstarts the instinctive snap from sitting to lying on the board, legs out of the water. Of course this brings the trunk into closer reach for razor teeth but the board is a partial barrier. For a moment all is still, the world holds its breath. Ten metres ahead a fin breaks the surface. A curved back breaches and disappears. A rush of relief, a nervous laugh. The surfer is an interloper entering the territory of others. Calculates the risks of dumping surf, pile driving into sandbanks, scraping up on rocks, being dragged out by rips, harpooned by stingers or predated by top predators. The surfer knows the likelihood is low, but the consequence is high. For the adrenalin junkie, the promise of a hit from a successful ride usually outweighs the risk. For the more sensitive, there is the aesthetic experience as well. Dissolving into the natural world subjects you to natural law. The surfer knows.

ROHAN BUETTEL lives in Canberra, Australia. His haiku appear in various Australian and international journals (including Presence, Cattails and The Heron’s Nest). His longer poetry appears in numerous journals, including The Goodlife Review, Rappahannock Review, Penumbra Literary and Art Journal, Passengers Journal, Reed Magazine, Meanjin, Meniscus and Quadrant.