Lake Ice - May 12 2023

 

Lake Ice

May 12 2023

It's finally hot

in this benighted spring

of freezing nights and dull days,

but the last island of ice

still grimly persists,

a dazzling white

in the cold grey water.

Diminishing

day-by-day

as I track its slow demise;

dense ice,

thawing

from its smooth outer edges,

water

sloshing over the top.

And all I can do

is admire its doggedness,

almost defiant

in the struggle to survive.

I stand near shore

where cold pours off the water.

There's a density

to this frigid air

that seems nearly solid.

And in this unaccustomed heat

it's like a cool cocktail

on a tropical beach.

A fancy concoction

made of rum and something sweet

at some tacky tiki bar;

a umbrella on top,

ice

clinking against the glass.

Missing

just the swizzle stick

and fizz.

Plain water;

cold, grey, flat.