The Lake

waters, blue-green and laced with foam
rolled ashore in liquid whispers
to wet the dune grass standing like sentinels
in a vast and verdant brigade

as a boy, I splashed in the shallows
and caught silver minnows in a frayed,
cotton cloth, then showed them to a girl
with eyes the color of cornflowers

and when we were still young and fresh
we ran, hand in hand, into the cold surf
where we warmed each other and spoke of
all the sweet things that life would bring us

and now, after the ebb and flow of thousands of tides,
I sit onshore of the great lake and reflect upon
the wonders of the waters and the woman
I love as I love my life