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)
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