Canal//River

Parallel lines

traversing my small city

-not small/mine anymore-

meeting to protect my childhood haven

A moat for a manmade fantasy

Merrit Island

Day Camps and Community events

literary adventures

early morning 5kms

family picnics

fishing, manhunt

Beautiful Island of Willow banks

Blackberry hillsides, crab apple courts, bitter blue grapes

Tarmac paths and wooded clearings

A safe place

A welcoming oasis

A neverending path to wander and explore

A place to think

To be not-so-alone for a moment more

A place to be in nature

breathing in pine, rotting leaves, spring flowers

fingers running along rough willow bark, soft grass, cool water

eyes drinking in the beautiful sky, living painting of animals and plants

ears tuned to birdsong, children’s laughter, barking, brief greetings:

“Good morning!”

“Beautiful Day!”

Water splashing the docks, coarsing out the treatment plant, weaving through oars, flowing through the veins of the city, sheltering the life within

Water wanders seeking us out

through filtered taps, leaky roofs, rain showers, spreading roots of river systems

It sustains us

Within and without

shaping terrain and feeding crops

cleansing our bodies and clearing our minds

Water sweet lover of life

guardian of humanity

We drown in your generosity