It was a mistake to attempt that crossing. I sensed the danger but still I tried it. I never thought much about drowning. I learned to swim when I was just a kid. But the pond near my old home place was perfect for swimming. This river is not. It's not placid and welcoming. It's swollen and angry, with a darkness that seeks to lure me to its most final depths.
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me the way!
My lungs are burning with exertion as my body struggles to function. One moment I am aware of my surroundings, the next I can't tell which way is up. The roar I couldn't avoid earlier is muted now. The cold has numbed my fingers, making them practically useless as I fight what seems to be my fate.
O sisters let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
O sisters let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
My head breaks the surface of the water, and for a moment, my lungs greedily suck in air. Then I am pulled under again. The darkness pulls me closer. Currents, like hands, grasp my body and try to force me to the riverbed. My arms flail uselessly. I am powerless.
O brothers let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
Come on brothers let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
I kick my tired legs, desperate to reach the light above my head. Again I gasp in air. Coughing violently my lungs try to rid themselves of the water that I have managed to breathe in too. I yell for help and dip back below the surface. I come up sputtering and yell again.
O fathers let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
O fathers let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
The water spins me around as if I were no more than a leaf on the wind. A flurry of movement on the shore draws my attention. Ike! His panic-stricken face is the last thing I see before slipping below the surface again. Hope! Help is near, but I am fading fast. My legs feel as useless as my hands and arms, but maybe I can muster one more push toward the sky.
O mothers let's go down,
Let's go down, don't you want to go down,
Come on mothers let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
Success! I draw in air, though not so desperately as before. Ike has found an outcropping of rock. He throws himself down and reaches his hand to me. My arm extends as if by someone else's power. My thoughts race, but my body is so slow to respond. It's so cold. So very cold. Has time slowed down? Ike grabs my hand and fights the icy depths for possession of my soul. And now he is singing to me. Ike is singing. Yet his mouth is tightly clenched with the strain of his exertion. But the singing...
O sinners let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
O sinners let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
The beautiful singing warms me from the inside out. Ike can't hear the music, or he wouldn't look so scared. His eyes are pleading with me. I look away, searching for the source. Then I know. The darkness that beckoned me ever closer to the sandy river bed. The darkness that lurked in the branches of submerged trees, grasping my clothes and clawing my flesh. The darkness sings to me, calls to me. Why did I fear it? A muffled cry sounds behind me, and I am sinking again. If only Ike could hear the music and see the darkness as it sheds its gloom. Beautiful, brilliant darkness. At last I am home.
Thanks so much, Hortense, for the vote of confidence and the title.