Instead of exerting yourself
to drag the paddle through water,
let your other blade push the air. 
Trust me, you will propel your boat.
Remember, the core of your strength
is neither from arms or shoulders,
but in your hips and abdomen. 

Seek to glide with efficiency –
hull speed is plenty fast enough. 
Allow a gentle flow of wake. 
This way, circumspect marine life
will be emboldened to join you. 
Sea lions approach your port side,
egrets wade hip-deep at starboard.  

Don’t aim your boat at these creatures, 
for they will see it as a threat
and flee. Remain oblique to them.
Pause to savor how they grace you
with unbidden presence. Remove
the camera from your dry bag, 
snap some photos as a keepsake. 

After a few hours, turn around.
Insert your paddle blade at stern,
then hold still as it pivots you. 
Give yourself enough time to leave
the marsh before the tide recedes.
If in doubt, follow pelicans –
they know how to find the harbor. 

When possible, enlist the help
of wind and current. Put no more
effort in than you really need.
Save energy for this return:
a seven-mile journey upstream,
avoiding mud in the shallows.
Have beer and oysters back at dock.