The Cove by Michael Keshigian

Lily pads and milfoil shelter 

bass that spawn beneath the old wooden dock 

with rotted legs in muddy water.

Beyond, in the dense tangle of weeds

at the shoreline, a pair of loons twine nests

the way fishermen weave stories

about the one that got away.

Vagrant dragonflies complete the inlet

he gazes upon. Raised off the cove,

he lets the scene sink in

after returning to a replica of the shoreline

where he grew up,

allowing the bright sunlight

to boil his brain in memory

while splaying pine needles

infiltrate his woven sweater

under cumulus mountain clouds,

bruised gray underneath,

that straddle the lake where ducks swim

in sentence line formation

to repeat the message posted on trees

and plaques on poles

that explain the ghost yet to be exorcised,

a secret the cove entombs.

A wandering visitor still missing,

whereabouts unbeknownst 

to all that walk, the knowledge of it

buried in this kingdom of fins, wet, and weeds,

creating a doom that hovers 

above this tranquil garden

where the lakeside residents 

swear the midnight laments

are not borne of loons.

Michael Keshigian’s thirteenth poetry collection, The Garden Of Summer will be released this Spring, 2019 by Flutter Press.  He has been widely published in numerous national and international journals and has appeared as feature writer in over twenty publications with 6 Pushcart Prize and 2 Best Of The Net nominations. (michaelkeshigian.com)