In the long gloaming of a slow
hot day when the dense green of the woods
sigh with exertion fogging the air
you move easily into the lake’s silken
embrace the relief of tannin-dark water
that strokes enveloping heat
hands moving forward you turn and turn
a lavender sky dark overhang of branches
shadows falling on a rippled surface
the voices of your friends fading
as you dive the sweetness of a body in water
its cold currents its secret murmurings
and the gentle rise a glide
of skin through coolness
sipping at the sudden dark of night