the lake

Day 3- Find the nearest book (of any kind). Turn to page 8. Use the first ten full words on the page in a poem. You may use them in any order, anywhere in the poem.


well, i'm currently reading, Can't Keep a Good Woman Down by Alice Walker.  it's taken me a while to read because i keep re-reading.  i'm currently going back and forth on her chapter titled Fame.  it relates so much to me when she talks about being asked about her success and not feeling like she's successful.  not to say that i'm successful but more so to say that i usually don't have answers to the questions people ask.  anyway, the first ten full words make up a great sentence.


"The only requirement is that they be younger than us"


i had never swam in a still lake
sitting in between banks of whispering weeds and keeping the secrets of flying fish
never saw the logs of grandfather trees bury themselves under calm waters for the younger trunks to sprout 
i had never dipped my skinnies in the darkness of a lake 
and i never had to leave my clothes behind just to feel free
but i stood there, looking at this lake, recalling every book i had ever read that even mentioned this murky body of water
tried to find the joy those characters felt when they were kissing on its banks or disobeying their counselors at summer camp
i recalled moments of enjoyment from people whom i had never known to make this lake seem like a literary miracle had come true
"it's only me and you" she said.
"what if someone catches us?" i asked quietly as if somebody already had.
"what if they don't?" 
i looked at Paris standing there trying to reason with me  
we had already been naked yet very demure in our right to love one another on the banks of our own rivers, in which men were not allowed
her hand moved from the small of my back to to the top of my tanned right shoulder
our gaze having never been disturbed
she gently slipped the first strap off and then the second
my dress fell to my ankles with my knees shaking ready to step out
"no bra on?" breaking our gaze to look at my peaking breasts
i laughed, finally she had put me at ease. 
"that is not a requirement for us little titty women. not that you would know anything about that," i said as my eyebrows lifted in sight of her full chest
she laughed with her soft lips and straight teeth, shrugged her shoulders and said, "fair enough."
the sun eased between the leaves of those high sycamore trees in the same breath she borrowed when she leaned in and kissed me
there was no one more important than Paris
the sun dimmed to the light she wore on the inside of her skin
and the moon got jealous that he had to spend all night watching her sleep beside someone else
but when she kissed me, our bodies pressed against one another like the empty pages in our diaries close enough to smell a secret forming
her hair blew against my forehead while our noses reacquainted themselves
this riverbank was made for us as it watched the exchange of love ever so quietly
i pulled my panties off to join her nakedness and match my vulnerability
and we stood there kissing 
bees buzzing around our stewed skin and the sun begging us for attention
i held her hand and we jumped 
into unknown waters, probably right in the middle of some quiet frog's nap
and when our heads peaked above water, hair dripping wet
beads of this lake running down our necks
i kissed her
"so this is what skinny dipping feels like?" i asked
"no, this is what love feels like"