September 2021
Early summer mornings
A Day at the Lake
By Cheryl Van Beek
Sunrise winks over the water, wakes turtles,
lulls frogs to sleep under leafy sunbrellas.
A Great Egret ripples overhead, lands at lake’s edge.
Its cane-shaped head and neck reflect on the surface —
a white cloud, melting like time in a Dali painting.
Water lilies filter and cleanse the lake,
sprout buds like castle spires.
Whiffs of clover sail the breeze.
A Baltimore Oriole’s whistle-call
mingles with laughter, picnic chatter.
Sunset spills a glass of Rosé into the lake.
The moon glimpses its face in the mirror.
Branches scatter shadows of velvet slumber.
Frogs begin to sing.
Life-giving Water
By Suzanne S. Austin-Hill
A whisper from stream’s rush
becomes booming, deeper truths,
shouted by a pounding surf
She never turned a deaf ear
to solar psalms and moon mantras:
In lack, excess;
in punishment, rewards;
in a threat (cancer), possibility.
The ocean holds the key to her survival;
sunlight dances on the promise of her future.
When the world forgets, she remembers-
The ocean is among the best medicines.
The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.1
Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.2
She has both.
Notes
1 Isak Dinesen
2 W.H. Auden
Long Key St. Pete Beach Aug. 31, 2021
By Suzanne S. Austin-Hill
After an appointment at Bay Pines VA and sensing I needed a drastic change in scenery, my husband whisked me away to the beach. If only I had worn the proper attire…
Read MoreOne
I Want Lake Cane to Like Me
By Michael Zahn
I want Lake Cane lake to like me,
to share in my delight
to splash me back and tickle me
as we again unite.
The water never lies to me,
(its slap comes with a laugh)
I have to say its honesty’s
an aphrodisiac.
Its pulsing waves will take us
where no one else can go —
Kick and stroke and pant and hope —
we set the world aglow!
Chipper
X Marks the Spot
By Cheryl Van Beek
The sky goes swimming at Lettuce Lake Park. Like clues to a secret treasure, this tree-curtained glimpse draws us in and whets the appetite to explore the rest of the lake—the big picture.
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SACRAMENT
By Michael Zahn
Below me,
the pool vacuum
sucks up my sins.
The workout ends,
I jump out,
the droplets slide down my skin,
I shiver in gladness:
Baptized,
refreshed,
forgiven.
Again.