The lake is forty degrees fahrenheit,
The kayak is too small.
You turn grey, your eyes narrow, fight or flight?
When your piano fingers, finally
Make the crucial trust-fall,
Suspended breath, landing so gracelessly.
Geese converse across the lake-top, green, clear,
We paddle, hush, enthrall ~
The sun plays hide and seek, swifts dive and veer.
The mountains wear a sari of blue mist,
Every lake-house, quaint, small
Mumbles by us with the pull of a wrist.
A gentle rain comes down, urging us back
Heed a warm kitchen’s call!
Our wakes stalk us faster to the task.
The dock is in sight and you’ve gone quiet
The next order, too tall
You see it, and frankly i imply it.
“How am I gonna get outta this thing?”
Your boat comes to a stall.
I don’t know either, big girl, I’m thinking.
I roll up my jeans and search for shallow
Grip your pull-cord and haul
And we flail, and fail, get wet, and bellow.
We’re only half frozen below the knee
Cups of coffee, a shawl,
If we weren’t, I’d ask you to marry me.