Never get off the boat

That was the number one rule

The boat is there to see the majesty of the swamp

Look with your eyes

See the trees, animals and water

See how they interact with each other 

Don’t leave the boat

---

Smell the swamp

The pines that overwhelm the air

The know that the water is moving 

And the animals are always moving

This is not a still place

This is a place full of life

But life that was meant to be in it

Don’t leave the boat

You were not meant to be here

---

I got off the boat

Not by choice

But by branch

Hit in the head 

My boat is gone

---

I bled and sink in the mud and sludge of the swamp

I wake and only my face is up and breathing is a little difficult

I feel my arms and legs but they are sucked in the mud

I can breath

But I am stuck in the mud 

I feel bugs and worms crawling all over me

I see the cloudy weather and trees above me

Perhaps it will rain 

Perhaps I will drown

I hope not

I was hoping to see the rest of the swamp

To see things that have not been seen

My ears are stuffed with mud and I hear nothing 

I would try calling out but I know that there are no other people foolish enough to be stuck in a swamp.

---

I see a lightning bolt and thought that I felt something crawl past

Rain has started

Sprinkles at first

Then it seemed that a full on storm started

Monsoons and hurricanes had nothing on this storm

I looked up and saw my doom coming across the swamp

A water wave it had to be twenty feet tall 

It was coming fast 

I held my breath and prayed for deliverance 

---

The wave washed over and I became free

The sludge that had held me down and kept me in place

Loosed me as the salt water wave cleansed the swamp 

Everything that was stuck in the sludge 

Was now free and cleaned

---

My boat was brought back to me 

I don’t leave the boat 

But I will leave the swamp

And seek some breakfast