Lake Cane Poetry Archives

By Sydney Lanier (submitted by Tom Welch)

Out of the hills of Habersham,
Down the valleys of Hall,
I hurry amain to reach the plain,
Run the rapid and leap the fall,
Split at the rock and together again,
Accept my bed, or narrow or wide,
And flee from folly on every side
With a lover’s pain to attain the plain
Far from the hills of Habersham,
Far from the valleys of Hall.

All down the hills of Habersham,
All through the valleys of Hall,
The rushes cried ‘Abide, abide,’
The willful waterweeds held me thrall,
The laving laurel turned my tide,
The ferns and the fondling grass said ‘Stay,’
The dewberry dipped for to work delay,
And the little reeds sighed ‘Abide, abide,
Here in the hills of Habersham,
Here in the valleys of Hall.’

High o’er the hills of Habersham,
Veiling the valleys of Hall,
The hickory told me manifold
Fair tales of shade, the poplar tall
Wrought me her shadowy self to hold,
The chestnut, the oak, the walnut, the pine,
Overleaning, with flickering meaning and sign,
Said, ‘Pass not, so cold, these manifold
Deep shades of the hills of Habersham,
These glades in the valleys of Hall.’

And oft in the hills of Habersham,
And oft in the valleys of Hall,
The white quartz shone, and the smooth brook-stone
Did bar me of passage with friendly brawl,
And many a luminous jewel lone
— Crystals clear or a-cloud with mist,
Ruby, garnet and amethyst —
Made lures with the lights of streaming stone
In the clefts of the hills of Habersham,
In the beds of the valleys of Hall.

But oh, not the hills of Habersham,
And oh, not the valleys of Hall
Avail: I am fain for to water the plain.
Downward the voices of Duty call —
Downward, to toil and be mixed with the main,
The dry fields burn, and the mills are to turn,
And a myriad flowers mortally yearn,
And the lordly main from beyond the plain
Calls o’er the hills of Habersham,
Calls through the valleys of Hall

By Jan Annino

Feel breeze on slack back
see gleam on water
sink toes in soaked sand
follow fingerling fetching breakfast

Find stick at drift line
feel woodwork water-smoothed
rake grass in finger play
follow fold of tiny wave

Lean back at shore hem
sense world cruise far away
name white puffs skirting high
follow dream in mind’s eye
Jan Godown Annino

(©2020JanGodownAnnino,allrightsreserved

By Jan Annino

Orlabdo orilla
shelters shimmering glimmering
lapis lazuli
beryl
sapphire
indigo
navy
Lake Cane

Orlando orilla
circles clear dear
glassy
transparent
sheer
pellucid
diaphanous
see-through
Lake Cane
Jan Godown Annino

*orilla de lago – (espanol, lake shoreline)

[copyright©2020JanGodownAnnino,allrightsreserved]

Good luck with the readings. I found this opportunity through the website of Ancient City Poets (St. Augustine)
though I’m not a member, which led me to the Florida statewide poets group, which had the call for poems.
Appreciations for your care of the lake & for your consideration. *Jan

By Robin Perez

At Long Last
A chill in the air
A slight chop on the water
Excitement
Anticipation
Time
Two by Two on both sides
Heading toward the light
Back again
Back toward the light
And home
It has been too long
But at long last
Back at Lucky’s again

By Michael Zahn

For those swept away from us
by the infinite undertow,
we swim.
For the mourning,
we swim.
For ourselves,
we swim.
* * *
We undulate, remembering
those who lie motionless in boxes and urns.
We dive, remembering
those who won’t ever return to the surface.
We rotary-breathe, remembering
those whose chests no longer rise and fall.
We kick, remembering
those whose pace clocks are frozen forever.
We stroke, remembering
those no longer confined by lane lines.
We count our laps,
remembering those who are on the longest lap of all.