A Familiar Walk

by Elizabeth Siegfried

Trees I have gotten to know 
Most have stood here 
for centuries
I speak to them as sages
Ask for guidance, compliment their majesty 
Did my great-grandmother catch them watching?

Muffled crunch of leaves 
Underfoot twigs snap
Earthy scent of mold tickles the nose
Wafts away 
On a warm-edged breeze.

When I reach my destination
The sun is low 
The dock balanced on its pile 
of rocks 
Spiked cedar planks
I sit on its splintery edge
An everyday ritual 
Until blustery gales return 
to numb my fingers.

The lake has dismissed 
Most inhabitants
The winds should be moving swiftly now
To bring the onset of
Winter’s camouflage
But today is a reprieve.

Today
Sounds of sloshing water 
And a warmish autumn whisper 
Of wind gusts through hemlock and pine
Drifts through canals
In my ear.

And then - 
BOOM
Too close
Reverberates through 
The forest
Shakes my body
Unmistakable.

I observe patterns 
Steady lake ripples 
Pushed by surface breezes and assaulting sound 
waves  
A thousand sun reflections 
Skip along the surface. 

BA BOOM 
Closer now
Across from me
I feel it deep 
in my chest.

Three ducks to my left 
Hidden in shadows shaped
By the setting sun
Take sudden flight
They fly towards the blast
I try to tell them 

Fly the other way.