Here’s the latest installment of Poet’s Corner, presented by the Edmonds-based EPIC Poetry Group.
Water
On that late afternoon
summer day
my sister and I dropped our clothes onto the dock
and dove in
our skinny bodies brown from a summer sun
that would always be there
at a lake so quiet
we could hear the fish jump.
The water was a deep blue-green
and we glided toward each other
beneath the surface, our eyes open
our mouths smiling as we blew bubbles
that floated to the surface and burst.
Later we dined
on peas and new potatoes
straight from the garden
in a cream sauce that only our mother could make
and laughed at stories that might never be told again.
We slept that night
in sheets bleached crisp on the line
and dreamed of water
and sun
and a life that would never end.
Today I stand on that dock
and wonder
if we were to dive in now
would I still see my sister
swimming toward me
her hair flowing out behind her
like a mermaid?
And I think Yes.
We might hesitate a bit
cold water being what it is
our bodies being what they are
neither thin nor brown
our mouths still smiling.
Susan Frederick
~ ~ ~ ~
Sweet September
As the sunny days of summer roll on
wearing out their welcome
there’s a quiet joy
in the simple act of tearing away
the August calendar page
to reveal the warm ochers and earthy browns
of sweet September.
The sun may still be blindingly bright
but fall is gently nudging summer aside.
Thundercloud plum throws blessed shade
the first autumn leaf hits my windshield
on its way down.
I smile.
A promise of days inside, wrapped in a quilt
with a book and a cup of tea.
Guilt free.
Susan Frederick
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Susan Frederick is retired from her work in corporate communications and now writes poetry, short stories and essays. Her poems have won local and national awards, and her short stories and essays have been published in Gather Here: A History for Young People, Northwest Prime Time magazine and now in My Edmonds News! Susan is currently on the EPIC Group Writers board of directors and is also a member of PNWA. She lives in Kirkland with her husband.
These two poems are absolutely lovely in the way they capture memories of summer and inevitbility of change we sometimes long for and can’t avoid.