...,~†%&§#                                          #§&%†~,...
....,~†%&§                                          §&%†~,....
.....,~†%&                                          &%†~,.....
......,~†%                                          %†~,......
.....,~†%&                                          &%†~,.....
....,~†%&§               Winds esker                §&%†~,....
...,~†%&§# ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #§&%†~,...
..,~†%&§##                                          ##§&%†~,..
.,~†%&§### There Was  This Place That For Two Years ###§&%†~,.
..,~†%&§## I Couldn'T Go  To.  Regardless How  Much ##§&%†~,..
...,~†%&§# Discussed  With  Others, Or Pointed  Out #§&%†~,...
....,~†%&§ On Maps, I Could Not Think  Of  It  When §&%†~,....
.....,~†%& Alone.  I Would Often  Travel  Past  The &%†~,.....
......,~†% Fork,  Where A  Right Turn Would  Surely %†~,......
.....,~†%& Take Me There, But Even  Then, Something &%†~,.....
....,~†%&§               Kept Me Away.              §&%†~,....
...,~†%&§#                                          #§&%†~,...
..,~†%&§## When  I  Finally  Got  There, After Some ##§&%†~,..
.,~†%&§###     Heavy Subconscious Battle I Must     ###§&%†~,.
..,~†%&§## Assume,  The  Place  Was   Surreal.   An ##§&%†~,..
...,~†%&§# Esker, Like A Needle-Thin  Rift  Out  In #§&%†~,...
....,~†%&§ The  Lake,  But  Ten   Meters  High  And §&%†~,....
.....,~†%& Adorned In Birch, Willow,  Bracken,  And &%†~,.....
......,~†%               Blueberries.               %†~,......
.....,~†%&                                          &%†~,.....
....,~†%&§ Walking  Atop  That  Spine,  I  Came  To §&%†~,....
...,~†%&§# Notice The View  To  Either Side.  There #§&%†~,...
..,~†%&§## Should  Be  Shores,  Of  Course,  But  I ##§&%†~,..
.,~†%&§### Didn'T Recognize Them.  First  Off, They ###§&%†~,.
..,~†%&§## Were  Much Too Close, As The Lake Should ##§&%†~,..
...,~†%&§# Stretch  For  A Hundred  Meters  More On #§&%†~,...
....,~†%&§ Both  Sides.  But  Now  I  Felt  I Could §&%†~,....
.....,~†%& Almost  Reach  Out And  Touch Them.  And &%†~,.....
......,~†% Then,  When I Realized Which Shores They %†~,......
.....,~†%&           Were, I Had To Stop.           &%†~,.....
....,~†%&§                                          §&%†~,....
...,~†%&§# They Were Of  The  Right Lake. But  This #§&%†~,...
..,~†%&§##       Lake Is Large, Fractured, And      ##§&%†~,..
.,~†%&§### Bipartite.  Like A Pair Of  Lungs Carved ###§&%†~,.
..,~†%&§## Into The Granite, And With  No Less Than ##§&%†~,..
...,~†%&§#   Five Communities Anchored At Various   #§&%†~,...
....,~†%&§      Points. And So, Studying These      §&%†~,....
.....,~†%&    Impossibly Close Shores, I Slowly     &%†~,.....
......,~†% Understood Them As Belonging Many  Miles %†~,......
.....,~†%&                   Away.                  &%†~,.....
....,~†%&§                                          §&%†~,....
...,~†%&§# I  Examined   The  Ridge,  The  Treeline #§&%†~,...
..,~†%&§## Above. Was This What You  Saw  Opposite, ##§&%†~,..
.,~†%&§### From  Those  Other  Shores?  I  Couldn'T ###§&%†~,.
..,~†%&§##                Remember.                 ##§&%†~,..
...,~†%&§#                                          #§&%†~,...
....,~†%&§ Carrying  Forward, On  The Very  Tip  Of §&%†~,....
.....,~†%& The  Esker,  I Found The Ruins  Of  Some &%†~,.....
......,~†%    Old Building. There Were Overgrown    %†~,......
.....,~†%& Marble Staircases, Stone Floors Beneath  &%†~,.....
....,~†%&§ The  Moss,  And Strange  Slabs  Inserted §&%†~,....
...,~†%&§# Into  The  Slope  Like Dams  Against The #§&%†~,...
..,~†%&§##              Ground Itself.              ##§&%†~,..
.,~†%&§###                                          ###§&%†~,.
..,~†%&§## Sitting There,  I Could  See  Across The ##§&%†~,..
...,~†%&§# Narrowed Lake  My Entire Path To Where I #§&%†~,...
....,~†%&§ Sat: From  The  Stairwell  Of  My House, §&%†~,....
.....,~†%& Through The Old  Woods Behind  The  Tile &%†~,.....
......,~†%      Factory, The Bridge Over Route      %†~,......
.....,~†%& Twenty three  And  Then Back  Under  It, &%†~,.....
....,~†%&§ Through   The  Fancy  Villas,  Over  The §&%†~,....
...,~†%&§# Fields, And Then That Right  Turn At The #§&%†~,...
..,~†%&§##                   Fork.                  ##§&%†~,..
.,~†%&§###                                          ###§&%†~,.
..,~†%&§## And  Then The Stairs  Up  On  The Ridge. ##§&%†~,..
...,~†%&§# Thinking  Back,  This  Was  Probably It. #§&%†~,...
....,~†%&§ Hidden In  A  Grove, There  Were  Stairs §&%†~,....
.....,~†%& Much Like The  Ones I Currently  Sat On, &%†~,.....
......,~†% Old And  Worn  Down, That  Lead  You  Up %†~,......
.....,~†%& Onto The Esker. The Point Of Entry.  Had &%†~,.....
....,~†%&§ I Insted  Opted To Walk The Path At  Its §&%†~,....
...,~†%&§# Foot, I'M  Sure  My Experience  Would'Ve #§&%†~,...
..,~†%&§##          Been Different Indeed.          ##§&%†~,..
.,~†%&§###                                          ###§&%†~,.
..,~†%&§## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ##§&%†~,..
...,~†%&§#                                          #§&%†~,...
....,~†%&§ On   The  Lake,  There  Were  People  In §&%†~,....
.....,~†%& Boats.  I  Wondered, Could They Even See &%†~,.....
......,~†% Me?  If I  Shouted,  Would They Turn  To %†~,......
.....,~†%&         Stare Right Through Me?          &%†~,.....
....,~†%&§                                          §&%†~,....
...,~†%&§#                                          #§&%†~,...
..,~†%&§##                                          ##§&%†~,..
.,~†%&§###                                          ###§&%†~,.
..,~†%&§##                                          ##§&%†~,..