Lake Effect

forward     the image groan
die above 400 feet of valley
they flooded it 100 years ago
buried in 39 seconds

your     blueish skin
resembles sun painting the sky
against the gray waves
the cliff side is empty
it sends your blank face back
the rocks are a mirror
reflecting the other side

death     is aluminum
a toy above severed trees
their stumps are green graves
that become eyes as you pass
the lake an open mouth of god
meant to swallow choke and moan

some vague sense of completion

voices behind me
coming down the trail

I had stripped to my underwear
feet dipped in cold green sky

sun still bearing down hard

my fingers over the edge of the dock

small green fish in god's tear drop

we had made the summit
we had run from the peak

there were five of us

I held my breath a moment
and there was nothing left

there was nothing to think
there was nothing to say

Joe jumped past me
but I didn't wait to hear the splash

I let the water catch

lift me up