Lake – Poetry In Time

I Catch Sun on Lake Crescent

When I Catch Sun on Lake Crescent

There is a point where
I like to linger in the late light
Among the arms of a hugging alder.
I use my left foot to leverage
And perch myself on a limb
Not far from the ground beneath her.
I cherish course gray modeled skin
As wrinkled as an elephant’s
And run my fingers across the thickened ridges.
I look into a dark recessed knotty eye
From where I gather empathy and kindness.
The chatter and clatter of breaking waves
Keep us company with laughter and stories.
Like old companions familiar in fondness
I pick at the white lichen pieces
That slough easily from her aging skin.
When the sun begins to vanquish
I carefully and respectfully lower from
This grand gentle beast my friend.
Ambering arms flailing frozen about me,
I glimpse a couple’s infatuation carving 
Cut deeply into her thoracic body,
The same initials of myself and my own love.
Not my affront, I trace them apologizing,
Relish remembrance can be caught
As effaced longevity upon an alder trunk.

Laura E. Garrard, Copyright 2022
April 8, 2022



All blog photographs by Laura E. Garrard, Copyright 2022

“Not My Affront, Yet Our Initials Still Caught,” by Laura E. Garrard, 2022

Enjoying the Calm

Enjoying the Calm

Today I approached the lake
And observed that she was very still.
She said, I’m thinking.
About what? I asked.
My destiny,
About where I’m going.
Ah, me too, I said.
I’d rather stay here with you.
Me too, I agreed,
This valley holds infinite beauty
And nourishes my breath and body.
She said, But if we stay here
We will not discover 
What may happen
If we were to explore
Elsewhere.
I said, True,
But we can be
Here together now,
Enjoy your sparkling sunshine,
And not worry about leaving just yet.
She said the winter storms are coming-
I don’t want them to, but they will-
The waves and current 
Will carry this me away.
I know, I said,
We will spend some time
And enjoy the calm.

By Laura E. Garrard
Oct. 8 2021


All photos above and below by Laura E. Garrard, Copyright 2021

I Became a Drop of Water One Day

In celebration of Poetry in Your Pocket Day, during this Poetry Month of April, I recorded myself reciting this poem (in the above video) while kayaking on Crescent Lake.

I became a drop of water one day
I floated from a cloud into a high hillside creek
And flowed downward to join a magnificent turquoise river
The river rushed into an emerald oblong lake
Where I greeted trout and merganser feet
I filled the entire lake as all drops linked together
I felt my body reach from one shore to the other
As well as separate to myself, the original droplet
After I had known fully my lake environ
I streamed out to the bay, then rougher moving sea
Joining currents stronger than me
Carrying me to other shores and other beings
I grew in knowledge, strength, and courage
Finally after a lifespan, I recognized myself again
For the water is me
Fills me
Nourishes me
And heals me
I became a drop of water one day
And through it realized the essence of all creation

By Laura E. Garrard, Copyright 2021
Feb. 5, 2021



[Top and Below Photos all by Laura E. Garrard, Copyright 2021]

Recognition

 Recognition
  
 So easily we are sucked in
 To rhythm, to culture, to doing
 Again and again we try to escape
 Those dreaded thoughts I should
 It peers, leers from around the hall corner
 Of our calm, beige alcoves
 And lures us in as dreams, discovery
 Snaking around our ankles
 Until it catches hold
 Dragging us unknowingly to the depths
 Of holes we never quite escape
 Just when our chins reach the rim
 And purity begins its rise
 We let go of our reclaiming
 The depth of who we really are
 In exchange for ambition, adoration
 Short-lived achievements and the next
 The next, what’s next, yes it’s always next
 For what are we if not our doings
 Are we anything but a wisp, a breeze
 An unfilled chalice
  
 I become as smooth as water
 As I gaze into the waving reflection
 The continuity of rolling liquid
 Explains the repetitive nothingness existing
 So frighteningly inside us
 A vast vase holding who knows what for what reason
 Except for those who can break away from the serpent of season
 Conquer the self and end the circle of want and challenge
 And enter the peace of it’s done, everlasting satisfaction
 The soul need not be searched
 It’s already fully present
 Waiting for the moment of complete solace
 Recognizing that being known is not making renowned a name 
 Or being drawn to destiny
 It’s about the unborn waiting for its first breath
 And the death of desire to be anything but breath itself 

By Laura E. Garrard, Copyright 2021
Jan. 22, 2021

[Photo above: "Riding Reflection," By Laura E. Garrard, Copyright 2021]

Rainbows In Misty Times

I drive in misty times
Returning home anew
A rainbow parades my presence
Stretching from north to south
Of our lakeside view
Sun from behind perfectly sets the stage
A reassuring gesture
Wilderness’ way of welcome
To this stranger
From a place of fresh experience
Unknowns abounding
Is this really my reality?
And yet the ribbon rest assures
These are the colors you’ve chosen
This You may truly be different
Even though the unruly untimely side plot chapter
Seems not your probable parent
This is still your place of power
This vulnerable spot, ever-changing
As you watch the weather projecting
The lack of control and protection
In life, yet it is a type of comfort
You within the stillness nature brings
So enjoy, playful otter
The Thunderbird directs from above
And the rainbow spans the distance
Between this self and the former,
Heaven and the horizon
Shining light, perhaps ultimate truth, on clearer water

By Laura E. Garrard, Copyright 2020

Oct. 23, 2020

Tag Archives: Lake

I Catch Sun on Lake Crescent

Enjoying the Calm

I Became a Drop of Water One Day

Recognition

Rainbows in Misty Times