The Lake

Emma Ogden

Honorable Mention - 2024 S. Gordden Link Poetry Award

On days when I can smell the sunshine

And days when the wind cuts straight to my core

I am stuck here.

Never stopping to catch my breath

Forced to keep walking, waiting

All for my mind to clear

The sun rises and falls, as does the water

I fear that if I should fall

The ground beneath my body would not catch me

 

I once saw a dead fish at the bottom,

It’s body too heavy for the water to sweep it away

I couldn’t help but look.