by Madison, 18 
Eton Academy, Metamora, Michigan.

 

In a small town in Idaho

Guarded by the woods

There is a lake

Whose beauty

Has withstood the tests of time

Where the mountains touch the sky

And the trees reach for the sun

And the cool, summer breeze

Masks the heat

Of the noontime sun

Fed by the winter snowmelt

From the Sawtooths

In the Rockies

And warmed by the summer sun

I think back

to the summer days

picnics on the beach

my dog at my feet

A dare to jump in

A minnow swimming by

A silver flash

From a distant boat

A blue haze

From the distant shore

The shadows from the sunset

Marking that the day is through

The sun begins to fade

And the moon begins to rise

The picking from the mandolin

Drowns out all the other noise

The motor boats are idle

The sky is free from planes

And all that can be heard

Written in Response to “Manatee/Humanity” by Anne Waldman