When I was younger I used to go sailing
Out on bray lake into the nature reserve
The birds didn't mind that I wasn't one of them
I drifted past on my fyberglass raft
And they barely blinked an eye

This one time I was in a 12 hour race
We had to keep moving 
otherwise the wind would catch us, 
and take us up stream
Well I was young and inexperienced 
and didn't know how to watch 
for the changes in the breeze
I was confident in my ability 
but ignorant to its necessities
And so when the surf flipped
 and the air grew still
I didn't see the trouble I was in
I didn't realise I was soon to be stuck
Lost in the corner of the lake
Surrounded by the reeds and wake

Once the realisation dawned
I looked around for a fellow competetor
But none of the others had ventured up this far
I had travelled off the beaten path 
into the overgrown glade
The area reserved for nature
A heron eyed me disapprovingly from the shore
As I eyed the boathouse
I could barely make it out from my trap
Could just about see the flags snapping to and fro on the roof of the club
I resigned myself to wait
Knowing full well that I could just huff on my whistle
and be rescued by the lifeguard
But something in me told me to wait

And as an adult now I know how important the lesson I taught myself was
Just because you find yourself stuck
Or you feel trapped
Doesn't mean that the tides won't change and you might come untethered 
and pull away free
In those moments you feel hopeless
When it seems all your decisions or indecisions have led you to fault
And yes sometimes you sink 
but sometimes
You float
And as I waited in the swampy bend
Hours ticking past with no sign of relief
Suddenly 
The sun reappeared
The clouds started pulling themselves away
Into the inky horizon
And with one final breath of patience
The first breath of wind caught my cheek
I pulled on the tiller
And tightened the sail
And with one jerked movement 
I was once again off on my trail

So when you are lost
And you want to get off
Just remember the wind, and the heron, and the weeds, 
And take a moment to not just concede
Let yourself sit
Let yourself wait
And with patience and perseverance 
Your trials may abait.