Water Festival

    by Snipe

Our home
a shining jewel
within a sapphire sea-
A sea teeming with life
as diverse as that of Dinotopia itself

Today we pause
to reflect
and rejoice
in that element that gave rise to life itself-
Water.

Waterfall City is the natural choice
to play host to today’s festivities-
travelers from across The Island
arrived days before
the busy streets are now filled to capacity

The cobalt blue holiday banners flutter
from every arch and overwalk
There is such a frenzy of activity
we'll take a poetic view of things-

A lone pterosaur banks
to silently slice through a cloud bank
it floats on warm thermals
high above Waterfall City
wanting to witness the celebration
it lifts a wing
just a fraction
to slowly circle the city
spying this way and that
looking for an activity deserving its attention-

In front of The Aqua Stadium
a crowd is gathered before The Grand Fountain
to be dazzled and awed
by a dancing waters display
engineered by several local scientists and inventors
The water shoots some twenty meters into the air
brightly hued by sunstones hidden within the fountain
itself
The pterosaur flashes a wicked thought-
and before it could think otherwise
is tucked into a dive
that it pulls level at just five meters above
the crowds heads
cutting right through the fountains waters-
splashing all gathered round

Wings tilt slight
and carry the mischievous bomber up and away
the cheers of the crowd below
lend a powerful updraft-
Shaking the water from its streamlined form
the sky glider turns to survey the activity
within The Aqua Stadium itself-

Precision teams of dolphins and their human partners
are performing water ballet
for a standing room only crowd
A live orchestra plays a luxurious accompaniment
that carries up to wrap itself round the pterosaur-
it closes its eyes
surrendering to the musics hold
only to catch itself
falling

Wings snap open to land
near the Upper Slide Pool
where children and hatchlings
splash and tumble down the little snake slide
All heads pivot
to the pterosaurs sudden and abrupt landing-
who plays it off
to hop over to the pools edge
to cool off its wings

When the attention finally turns away
it climbs high and away
from the distracting music

The cargo chutes that ring the city
are free of traffic today
and a slalom course has been set up
the pterosaur drops low to witness the race-
small, single person crafts
powered by sunstones
glide and skim over the waters surface
carving this way and that
avoiding the floating skiffs
that mark off the course

The race at hand is close-
down to three contestants
as they enter the last sharp turn
one over compensates and plows
into the hay bales that line the walls
the last two hurtle
neck and neck
to the finish line-
so close

The water boils and froths just before the finish
one racer sees this
and veers hard left
just as a giant Mosasaurus breaks the surface
flashing rows of shining teeth
the racer who didn't turn jumps off his craft
as it bounces off the creatures chest
The second racer glides just under a huge flipper
to emerge unscathed behind the water beast
and on through to the finish line

The Mosasaurus dives
and swims under the downed pilot
to surface with the grinning and waving youth
riding its neck

The pterosaur smiles
and flies on
down below children are gathered
at The Good Fortune Bridge
dropping flower petals and written prayers of thanks
folded into Saurian shapes
into The Ichthyosaur Canal
to be carried over Saber Tooth Cascades
and out finally to the Sea

The pterosaur glides over to Daredevil Rock
and lightly lands
using its nimble wing fingers
it opens a small woven pouch worn round the neck-
within are small objects of special meaning
collected throughout the previous year
It lays these upon the rock before it
the Sun and Sea mist play over the surface
of the offerings making them shine bright

The pterosaur nudges the items
one by one
into The Upper Thunder Falls with its beak-
watching as the water swallows them up

We spiral up and away
leaving our pterosaur friend lost in thought
high above the crested falls.

The Water Festival

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