Prompt Week # 5
Night, water, stars reflecting, ripple of a swimmer, a splash....
It’s so quiet at night. Everyone has gone to bed and I sit in the finally alone of my day. I can hear the loons in the cove. They’re calling me. I tiptoe across the squeaky floor and lift the door so it doesn’t rub against the swollen base making that awful squawking sound. Just as quietly I close it behind me.
The lake is beautiful draped in its starlit hush. My clothes lay like bread crumbs on the beach behind me as I walk straight into the water, rippling the star fabric with my every step. When I am in to the tops of my thighs I make a quiet dive into the stillness.
I swim straight out towards the rocks staying under for as long as I can. The water gathers round me like a second skin. Everything’s been left on shore. It’s just me and that water in a brilliant dance.
I come up for air and roll over onto my back. I can float on the water forever. I let go of every thought and just float. Above me the stars twinkle and warm night air blankets my face and the tops of my toes. Every now and then, I feel a fish nibble on my feet or on my fingers as I drift on the water.
Nothing is better than those summer night swims. Nothing heals or comforts my spirit as well as the feel of dark water on my skin. Breaking through the fear and the mystery of the lake at night to touch the magic and the majesty that first time was the greatest gift that I’ve ever given myself. It’s a present that I open every warm summer night.
It’s so quiet at night. Everyone has gone to bed and I sit in the finally alone of my day. I can hear the loons in the cove. They’re calling me. I tiptoe across the squeaky floor and lift the door so it doesn’t rub against the swollen base making that awful squawking sound. Just as quietly I close it behind me.
The lake is beautiful draped in its starlit hush. My clothes lay like bread crumbs on the beach behind me as I walk straight into the water, rippling the star fabric with my every step. When I am in to the tops of my thighs I make a quiet dive into the stillness.
I swim straight out towards the rocks staying under for as long as I can. The water gathers round me like a second skin. Everything’s been left on shore. It’s just me and that water in a brilliant dance.
I come up for air and roll over onto my back. I can float on the water forever. I let go of every thought and just float. Above me the stars twinkle and warm night air blankets my face and the tops of my toes. Every now and then, I feel a fish nibble on my feet or on my fingers as I drift on the water.
Nothing is better than those summer night swims. Nothing heals or comforts my spirit as well as the feel of dark water on my skin. Breaking through the fear and the mystery of the lake at night to touch the magic and the majesty that first time was the greatest gift that I’ve ever given myself. It’s a present that I open every warm summer night.
posted by millay at 1:47 AM
1 Comments:
Well, be careful out there. Hansel and Gretel left bread crumbs behind too--but the birds ate them and they lost their way home.
Nice evocation of the scene--you've given the prompt a ride, almost as if it was designed for you.
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