More floating memories surface now,
The bubbles clinging to my body
As I enter crystal velvet water.
Seeking what was lost, what I loved most.
Louie, black and sleek, figurehead dog
In my canoe, jumping to bow before
I called him, horizon-searching for Daddy,
Fishing far off, or Buzz, sailing past Suzy.
On shore, burying bones never found again.
Barked at toads but never warned of snakes,
Heat sleeping on front steps, black leather belts
Moving lazily under roots, fern, rocks.
Campouts on the island, Buzz and Paul and Joey
Play camping cowboys, Daddy sneaking up with
Silent paddles, dark canoe surprising,
Marshmallow attacks, laughing over the water.
Evenings of flute scales floating across
The cove, Nancy practicing, all listen
And drink in music, sweet, clear, night-time’s
Perfect ending, peace, then frog-sounds answer.
And me, slipping canoe ways to the end cove,
Far from noise and eyes and road. Current
Pulling, drifting silent, under shade cool trees
An archway over, mirror under, ferns surrounding.
Stopping at the end dam, silent walking
On pine carpets, deep and brown, springy
Wet, stream following to noisy highway,
Then retracing, a surprised grouse below.
And then, the grandmother hemlock
More round than my long arms stretch.
Black shade, cool earth, lying in the damp
Looking up, sunlight filters darkly through.
Slipping back to other’s eyes: fishermen,
Sailors, swimmers, friends, dogs, parents,
Lovers. Oh, test supreme for them, the lake:
You have to love my place, my lake.
If you can see the unseen in my eyes,
The dark velvet nights, sense the cool earth
And ferns beneath your back, and the
Slip-hiss of paddled water, then you are there.