Lake Breezes, Now and Before

By Melissa Kalinowski

I wish I might always wonder
how they move frilled-willow branches,
lift perfume from water lilies,
wheel downy seeds to someplace new.
I wish I might always feel their presence
uplifting as bird songs that float above—
as the times I biked to the public beach,
swam with friends and howled,
tongue reddened from cherry ice.
At night sheets gathered from drying outdoors
exhaled flora or cut grass, ghostly curtains
drifted in opened windows, and last
when at rest, the rallies of social crickets sang.

© 2023 Melissa Kalinowski. All rights reserved.