,,=*†%@### ###@%†*=,,
,,,,,=†%%@ @%%†=,,,,,
,,,,,,*†@# #@†*,,,,,,
,,=*†%@### ###@%†*=,,
,,,,**††@@ @@††**,,,,
,,,,=†%%## 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? ###@%†*=,,
,,,,,,,*%@ @%*,,,,,,,
,,=*†%@### ###@%†*=,,
,,,,,,*††@ @††*,,,,,,
,,,,=*†@## ##@†*=,,,,
,,,,**%@@@ @@@%**,,,,