Rabbit and Rose
Shimmering waters
reflecting bright sun
just like summers since
red skinned people
deer otter birds bees
played the chorus
of life together.
Back then the children
played by the beach
while mothers watched
picked medicine,
wove baskets. The men
fished in the shade
further down the shore.
In between, sometimes
they launched small boats
stirring up "big waves"
knocking down the sand
sculptures that children
kept rebuilding right
on the water line.
When the boats moved out
the fish moved in.
Watching the children
play watching the men
fish trying to chill
just like everyone
else feeling the heat.
Later the moon rose.
The lake showed the
sky its face hiding
her own soul from the
moon who was looking
at the sun hiding
from fish and men alike.
The men stayed out
late while their mates
waited and watched
out, told stories to
sleepy children of
fish and birds and dreams.
Sometimes men brought fish.
They reached beyond
the mirror and pulled
back the unseen to
make it real in the
real world of hunger
growing children and
developing brains.
Other times they brought
only the smell of fish.
Even the best, the ones
who knew how to tire
a fish out first and
then bring it in would
sometimes catch nothing.
The catfish swam right
around bait, to find
their own meal below
the surface below
other fish gliding
like dancers between
moon rays and fish lines.
Now, there are still red
people around and
lots of other folks.
Roads circle the lake
and fences frustrate
deer, otter, birds bees
and it still gets hot,
and the children play
on the beach while their
mothers watch relax
into summer's slow
rhythm and the men
fish from the shade of
the dock down the shore.
In between, sometimes
they launch motor boats
stirring up "big waves"
knocking down the sand
sculptures that children
keep rebuilding right
on the water line.
When the boats move out
the fish move right in
watching the children
play watching the men
fish trying to chill
just like everyone
else feeling the heat.