Archive for April 2021
First Lake Crossing
By Barbara Giles
Splashing bodies glide into the deep.
Face beneath the water. Pulse takes a leap.
Breathe stroke stroke breathe.
Fingers graze an object! Swelling sense of dread.
Monsters under water? Or only in my head.
Breathe stroke stroke breathe.
Red orb floating. I can make it there.
Reach the halfway point. Now I can take some air.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
Back under the water. Mind under control.
Back under the water before the day takes its toll.
Breathe stroke stroke breathe.
Middle of the lake. All alone out here.
Glancing to the distant shore. All I feel is fear.
Breathe stroke stroke breathe.
Reaching finish dock. Kick the fears away.
Face towards the rising sun. Time to face the day.
Breathe.
Backyard Exclamation
Seasons’ Cycle
By Suzanne S. Austin-Hill
Temperatures plummet, heaviness falls from the sky.
A weighty, shiny, deadly intruder overtakes everything;
glistens deceptively;
makes its home atop the small, strong, and sturdy;
coats the tall and majestic as well.
Even they must succumb to the crush
of its crystallized calamity.
In brokenness the fallen lie quiet,
hopeful warmth will return
for those who remain,
bringing with it a kindness…
Tasteless, colorless, and mindful.
Ubiquitous, nourishing and necessary,
flowing from heights, resolving itself in deepest, darkest places;
connecting one body to another;
carving colorful canyons from gray granite.
A gift from above it refreshes and renews
all that is around it.
The brutal becomes bounty.
©2014/March 2019/March 2020 Suzanne S. Austin-Hill
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