On a Summer’s Day

For Kirsten

Yellow spears of loosestrife band together

and march along the creek,

songs of cardinals descend from trees,

the stream, a timekeeper, of its course

rolls over bathing stones and logs

and finally joins the beach,

sands as soft as milled wheat. In the Mississippi

boats cruise, anglers wade from shore,

cast lines while their dogs swim freely

and overhead raptors circle the sky. Extraordinary,

the reverie of an ordinary day.

Yet, in the breeze a rupture of atoms,

what an uproar!

is it possible to avoid thoughts of being without

time? Naturally, that sorrow touches all.

There’s laughter now, children’s bare feet,

and steps into the golden

cave of the cliff, a magical chamber to wander

where moments flare as memories

to one day look back on.

Poem by Melissa Kalinowki

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