A storm cleared the air, finally
scrubbed the sky clean
and for one day it was perfection
the magical lake fresh with a crisp and stunning beauty I know so well.
The still evening called me, alone
down to the dock in just a towel
and I slipped down the ladder in the dark
the cool water sliding over my skin as I swam out to my usual spot.
Just me on the lake
just me watching the last light fade.
One more night, one final dip
less perfect but this time with stars
everything quiet, smooth, peaceful
the water lapping at the edges of my body
blurring sound as I gazed up at the big, dark sky.
Just me on the lake
just me watching the light fade
just me to bid the bittersweet farewell.
-RDP
Still Beauty
Sometimes
the beauty of the place you love
isn’t as clear as it once was
Sometimes
it’s smoky and muted
isn’t as stunning as you remember it could be
But it’s still beauty.
It’s what you have now
and so you let it wash over you
just the same as it always did
It’s what you have now
and so you let the wild and gentle lake you know so well
steal your heart once again
as she will every year until either you or she is gone.
-RDP
A Poem on the Elements
Seven years ago I wrote my first poem, prompted by an assignment at a retreat. The only instruction was to reference the five life elements of Ayurveda. And so I wrote a tribute to my favorite place: the mountains I grew up in and still visit once or twice a year. I’m here now and in the quiet of a morning on the lake, the poem found its way to the surface of my memory.
Nothing is sacred, he said
Not even this place.
A sad ache seeps from my heart on into my bones
My experience of the world so different
And I wait days for words to form some sort of reply.
We live separate lives
But here is where we gather.
We set aside our differences and play
Here is where the dirt has soaked up ourselves
Year after year after year
And pulses with our memories, sustains us.
Summers spent one with the water (winters with snow)
No need for shoes, our feet crave the bare earth.
Fireworks enjoyed from the boat
Thin mountain air hot, then suddenly cool with thunderstorms
Backs against the dock, lake calm
Stars burst from the dark ether.
This place is nothing but sacred, she finally said
Knowing words would never convince him.
And so she released it all
Earth, water, fire, air and ether
Trusting the sacred to find her own way to him.
-RDP