like a freshwater lake in the desert

it was so hot:
  
all attempts to wring

some lightness-of-heart

out of the lifeless, still day 

had mostly been abandoned –

as if, the hours were stuck,

by the blasting heat, 

to the middle of an asphalt road.

I had taken a break,

from after-lunch camping chores, 

to sit down on the edge of our

wooden picnic table bench

and – kicking off my flip-flops

and wiggling my toes –

I was soon joined,  

in that diversion,

by a little boy

of about two or three,

hotly pursued

by a red faced older fellow:

the child’s grandfather,

as it turned out – 
the lad:  “a runner”, he explained.

the boy laughed,

as we continued 

wiggling our toes together.

grandpa laughed,

and I laughed, too.

“little ones” – he chuckled, 

with the acuity of an ancient sage:

“are like a freshwater lake . . . in the desert”.

notes:  The prompt this week for Poetry Jam is “Impossible Place”.

Pictured is Osoyoos Lake.  Osoyoos, British Columbia is located in the only desert in Canada with the lowest rainfall, the highest temperatures, and the warmest fresh water lake in the country.  The town is located on the lakeshore of Osoyoos Lake – as is the town of Oroville, Washington, on the US side.  Captured in these photographs of Osoyoos Lake are the desert hills of the region.  The bottom photograph shows a vineyard and the orchard trees prevalent in the area, pinned between the Lake and the desert.
 
photos:  Osoyoos Lake, British Columbia – M.T. Bourke

© 2014 Wendy Bourke