DUNES REVIEW
Fall 2016 (Volume 20, Issue II): 20th Anniversary Issue
Cottage at the Lake: 2 Views
PATRICIA CLARK
COTTAGE AT THE LAKE: TWO VIEWS
i.
Dew on lawnchairs and canvas
beads of it on the grass,
how your feet leave tracks—
so still, a fire cracks, a phoebe whistles—
is there any “now what?”
Surely these are the brief times—so let’s
kick up our heels—
I thought of dancing—
pushing the furniture back to the walls.
A boat growls and pulls the skier up.
ii.
This is a slow hour
Carolina wren on the railing
man on the dock in a folding chair
summer after summer.
The lake’s a gull wing
blue steaks of waves.
Our dog fell in the water
but knew, instinctively, to paddle.
What do we know like that?
I turn to you—there’s
the body’s shore, ladder of spine.