reflections in water -
early morning
as day blinked its eyes
I rowed a little dory out - smooth rivulets
behind me in the mirror surface
I stopped in the middle
wrapping the misty silence around me
straining to remember the
town as it had been
yes, it would be
about here - the cemetery -
they moved all the
graves they could before the deluge
but many remained
for age or obscurity's sake
it was there
she first kissed me
we went daily for the quietus and privacy
to do afternoon homework
(and split the atom)
there, friendship became ... more
like crocuses rushing to spring
we bloomed under the
brooding arms of a grumpy elm
branches twisting as if
to keep our callow sins a secret
so precious, those moments -
so ... distant
now - a flood and
a lifetime later - it all decayed
in the merciless murk ...
an entire town given to the abyss
for the thirst of a city
miles away
not a thought given to our
town's tragedy
no laurel laid upon these
somber depths
the feelings I
pondered there in stillness
had no precedent
half my life and countless memories
swimming far below
in unforgiving darkness -
homes, streets, schools, churches
gardens of stone ...
drowned for progress and
population
now, I committed
a like crime -
fishing my wallet from a corduroy pocket
I removed her photo from
its honored sheath
(where it had slept for years)
placed it ever-so-tenderly on the
lake's surface, and
watched it slowly lilt to the inky
depths, with my youth ...
and her memory.
~ For Jane Yolen ~
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