STUCK IN THE LAKE

Note from Marie Elena:

Although “Across the Lake, Eerily” is a collaboration of, as we say, two kindred spirits (Walt and me), I desire to share the following poem and message below from a dearly loved cousin, who lived with my parents on Lake Erie for a time. Enjoy. 

STUCK IN THE LAKE

By Christopher Daniel Donadio

It happened one day I admit

The spell of The Lake caught my eye

The thought that had captured me just wouldn’t quit

Until I would give it a try

The peninsula jutted 500 feet

Past the dock at the end of their yard

I knew I could do it just once, not repeat

What a fool for I knew not how hard

The idea occurred from the winds that blew

All the water out from Morin Point

Mud was all that remained and the idea grew

To cross over to McLearys Point

My aunt and uncle delighted at this

To think I would give it a shot

With encouragement, said, “Go ahead Chris”

And I waited until it was hot

The theory I had, the hot summer sun

Would dry up the mud for my path

What a lark I thought, oh this will be fun

What waited…an Erie Mud Bath

As the ladder was placed by the dock

Timidity rose with descent

You would laugh were you timing by clock

How quickly my plans would be rent

The first steps went well, yet doubt set in

Just twenty yards out mud was muck

The laughter it went from thickness to thin

As both boots in the mud became stuck

Note from the author:

This is a true story. Marie Elena’s parents are very encouraging, believing that their daughters, and their crazy nephew, could do anything to which they set their mind and heart.

I am one of the 6 cousins Marie writes about, who grew up as her back yard neighbor: the son of the mother who is the sister of her father. Marie has always been a great source of encouragement to me, even in my early days of writing poetry. With a few breaks in the silence in the last 20 years, I really haven’t written much poetry since living on the western half of “The Lake” near Marie and her family. I love your BlogSpot and your writings, Marie, and Walt, I love the poem of yours that Marie has shared with me (I believe it is titled “Down Syndrome Cousins”).