CAMP ANOKIJIG

for Bob Wittke

At summer camp we fished

that small still pond

with our new bamboo rods,

whipping our fly lines over

those lily pads, where we thought

the black bass hid.

It is our quiet innocence

I have taken back from those

special days we had together,

that shines now brighter

than the sun did then, or ever since.

For me to hold to it dearly,

something that we knew was more

than us, being a substance that

lies deep within, unblemished,

where shadows disappear,

and dark clouds never invade.