I sit on the short wooden dock

Feet dangling in the cool lake water,

Waves rippling around my calves. 

Tiny fish school below my toes

Eagerly biting at creatures smaller than they,

Invisible to my eye. 

A duck family makes another pass, giving me wide berth,

Mama voicing a low and constant quack

To keep the youngsters moving on course. 

The wind tangles my hair into disarray,

The shadow on my lap resembling Medusa’s locks. 

A boat races by, squealing children on board. 

Its wake enlivens the water below me,

Splashing my knees and moving my relaxed legs 

Back and forth and back again. 

An industrious ant approaches and dances around uncertainly

Before detouring around my giant obstruction in its path. 

The chilly breeze across the water

Offsets the warmth of the sun’s rays on my shoulders 

As our home star begins its descent in the evening sky. 

And I drift into a special peace that comes from being on the water,

Cares washing away, my soul resting fully.