through the rolled-down car window
still miles and miles away
the smell of the lake
and the breeze
and the sand
are my map
to the beach
of my childhood
where my feet sink
into the sand
all the way to water’s edge
and the first
bracing
touch of lake on my feet
steals my breath away
till I
take the plunge full on
and I emerge
six years old again
giggling and splashing
the smell of
sand-meets-water-meets-sun
fresh on my heart
and I laugh
at the notion
that I could ever be cold, here
