Advice

by Christina Gossmann

At the lakeside, we got talking

about the land, the water

one brown, one red

Hippos are fast, he said

And when they chase you

you zigzag

and run as hard as you can

His hands were in motion

setting an example

At his childhood lake, he’s escaped a few

but not his friends.

There’s water snakes too

Once they bite, stay in the water

Will they kill you? I asked

Instantaneous, he said

you leave, you die

But in the water, your blood is slow

cold

You stay, don’t move

Wait for muti.

Journalist? she asked.

I had a friend, a journalist, she said

On an assignment, in CAR

She got incredible access

embedded with the rebels

One day

they had muti

Became invisible

—including her

When they went into a village

she followed

invisible

By the next day

they had killed them all

and she was there

invisible