A lake is a body of water, a reservoir is the land which holds the body in its embrace like a lover in the night.

I see a reservoir now which mourns the loss of its companion our lovely Walton Lake. Her life force spilled out of a spout down the road a stretch as a pump squeezed and pushed her relentlessly for days, weeks and months. Her body spilled out and trickled down a ditch into a hollow place many miles long by the railroad track.

There is nothing I can do but stand and watch. I feel helpless to help her. Powerless to change a course nobody planned for or expected. When people fall asleep at the wheel of responsible decision making, it careens off the road into a ditch and lives are lost. When that happens, we by-standers wonder, “Why must it be?”

Somebody stopped listening. Somebody was powerless to stay awake and alert. Who is that somebody? It’s me. Guilty as charged.

My senses are intact today. So I do remember Walton Lake on Memorial Day 2025

Look out the window of a child’s eyes,
See the sparkling sunlit Walton water play.
Rippling waves dance over the surface,
an eternally changing water color painting.
Each passing hour, a symphony of color; silver grey, soft gold, juicy peach, sky blue,
languid lavender, rambling rose.
Her many faceted face reflects all.

The mirror surface broken by a fisherman’s dream,
infinity circles move outward, stopping at the bank.
Blue Heron flies low barely skimming the water with his toes,
he looks longingly at Bass beneath his feet.
A meal or a resting place?
He claims them both.

A silky serene body in eternal motion,
even when ice crystals hold her firm.
Listen for it, when the air squeals,
a voice of reason whips out of Northern gusts,
“Stay inside where warmth prevails.”

Steady on as an earth born heart beat
drums in the darkness of winter’s depth.
Witnessed by a lone wolf daring to defy the pack
he lifts his nose and howls to an absent lover.

Our lives are synchronous.
Harmony and peace prevail in this small place of liquid comfort.
Our integrity, preserved by her organic free spirit,
her fluid graceful curves and waves.
A small maid dancing on the bosom of her Mother,
a gentle presence sustains, nurtures, begets life for all.

Daily Reminder: We are hollowed out by life experiences until we can listen like a chime listens to the wind.

“Today I make thought choices in alignment with my heart’s desire to expand and grow in more awareness, acceptance and surrender.” MIAH