I wrote this to submit to Phyllis and Gloria’s new anthology (due soon!) on the Mindfulness of Aging. Gloria and Phyllis are asking for first-person, narrative poems that make folks feel good about aging. I also think this poem fits with the music assigned for my Midsummer Music poem. Phyllis is fine with previously published for her anthology (If I use it for Midsummer Music, which is a limited audience). This reflects our day last Tuesday, kayaking north of Shawano Lake on a small, quiet lake. It was a jackpot day of wildlife watching. There was also a green Heron fishing, which I took out. I like my last line, (I began with that in mind) .but am not sure it’s strong enough. For Phyllis, it can be no longer than 30 lines. This is 26…but 28 with title and the space between. I had it in stanzas of 4 lines each, but the breaks weren’t right.

Outside of Time

No Older This Morning

75 and Alive

I step into my kayak
on the morning-glazed lake,
slip into the worn seat,
feet braced, knees soft.
The paddle slices through unbroken water,
my torso moves with pull and push.
I pass loosestrife and arrowroot.
Wild iris wave their violet flags.
Even the water waits,
only paddle drips make circles on the surface.
White lilies tilt toward sun.
Yellow pond lilies clench
tight fists above green pads.
In a lone pine crowned with a nest,
an osprey feeds its chick
ribbons of torn fish.
Her mate lands with precision,
his wings fold to nestle in.
Loons call across the water,
a sound older than time.
One dives, comes up with a flash
of silver in its beak,
a minnow passed to her waiting chick.
I paddle forward
as time rolls back in the kayak.

Annette Langlois Grunseth