{"id":296,"date":"2018-09-22T20:52:29","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T20:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/?p=296"},"modified":"2018-10-19T12:51:57","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T12:51:57","slug":"sylvan-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/sylvan-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Sylvan Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"

for colleen and her cottage<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

VWing up the last<\/p>\n

hill<\/p>\n

downshift to second<\/p>\n

turn to dirt roads<\/p>\n

tamarack pines in still green water<\/p>\n

bank the edge<\/p>\n

to let a jeep squeeze by<\/p>\n

returning lovers<\/p>\n

ride the wind<\/p>\n

dinner is a curve away<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div> \u00a0<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

a glacial dig bore Sylvan Lake<\/p>\n

tore from the frigid earth<\/p>\n

a shrieking tribute<\/p>\n

of frozen dirt and splintering rocks<\/p>\n

and left them guardians<\/p>\n

of a fertile holy place<\/p>\n

filling slowly the bleeding scar<\/p>\n

with dying tears<\/p>\n

dropping down<\/p>\n

and perhaps living there still<\/p>\n

at the bottom<\/p>\n

where I\u2019ll make you<\/p>\n

of poems<\/p>\n

where summer will never end<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

her cottage \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A-framed \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0cedared<\/p>\n

and smelling of fireplaces<\/p>\n

summering maple and split pine<\/p>\n

burns the night with early desire<\/p>\n

coloring books \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0monopoly<\/p>\n

and last year\u2019s reader\u2019s digest<\/p>\n

late of peter pan land<\/p>\n

we never used wires<\/p>\n

violently praying for sun<\/p>\n

tomorrow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

morning green waking sky<\/p>\n

early fisherman dance quietly across<\/p>\n

a virgin lake<\/p>\n

the sun sets on fire<\/p>\n

alligator trees<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

glacial dumps rim Sylvan Lake<\/p>\n

hills more green than the deepest water<\/p>\n

dropping down<\/p>\n

through harsh thermoclines<\/p>\n

where I swam searching the bottom<\/p>\n

and wasted<\/p>\n

bubbled helpless up<\/p>\n

to high green against hungry blue<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

bumpy firelanes patchwork the woods<\/p>\n

rolling right to where<\/p>\n

the Muskegon cuts a deepdown bed<\/p>\n

of scrub pine and barefoot sand<\/p>\n

sucking straw-like from weeping hills<\/p>\n

sapling spring water<\/p>\n

between blue toes<\/p>\n

and into oxbent currents<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

then running even farther<\/p>\n

along the smiling ridge<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

walking\u2014<\/p>\n

barefeet in sinking sand<\/p>\n

up hiking hills<\/p>\n

synagogue green,<\/p>\n

cycle ruts<\/p>\n

narrow path through high pines<\/p>\n

battling an invasion of mosquitos<\/p>\n

till the next patch of sun<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

walking\u2014<\/p>\n

till we reach the highway<\/p>\n

snowmobile runs on the other side<\/p>\n

dune buggies\u2014<\/p>\n

whine<\/p>\n

and disappear<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

then heading back<\/p>\n

for a swim before lunch<\/p>\n

barefeet sinking<\/p>\n

in warm asphalt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

frowning smiles<\/p>\n

brown and beautiful<\/p>\n

swimming towards me<\/p>\n

hair that begs summer sun<\/p>\n

and laughing eyes<\/p>\n

that I love to poem<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>\n
\n
\n

jeep trails walk the deep forests<\/p>\n

even at sunset<\/p>\n

when railroad tracks and rushing \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0sky<\/p>\n

couple by the altar green<\/p>\n

mounting the moon<\/p>\n

by mosquito light<\/p>\n

and moaning out the summer heat<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

while we search for five pennies<\/p>\n

that the six o\u2019clock from Muskegon<\/p>\n

has given a new life<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

sunset sliding<\/p>\n

through alligator hills<\/p>\n

evening gathers across the lake<\/p>\n

walking to the bridge<\/p>\n

we are as quiet as sleeping children<\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>\n
\n
\n

morning is a sleep away<\/p>\n

a sweet roll and a cup of tea<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

tonight\u2019s logs<\/p>\n

will build tomorrow\u2019s fire<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

the lake \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the sky\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the hills<\/p>\n

will be there \u00a0\u00a0to start again<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

dawn will pull them through<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n

midnight fire<\/p>\n

at lake\u2019s edge<\/p>\n

red coals glow the sand<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

burning<\/p>\n

an inner light<\/p>\n

between us<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sylvan Lake Afterword<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

for colleen and her cottage \u00a0                               \u00a0   Sylvan Lake Afterword<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sylvan-lake"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pafo44-4M","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":501,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions\/501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimkalmbach.net\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}