,,,,~~:*#@ @#*:~~,,,,
,,,~~:*#@# #@#*:~~,,,
,,~~:*#@## ##@#*:~~,,
,~~:*#@### ###@#*:~~,
,,~~:*#@## ##@#*:~~,,
,,,~~:*#@# 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? ##@#*:~~,,
,,,~~:*#@# #@#*:~~,,,
,,,,~~:*#@ @#*:~~,,,,
,,,,,~~:*# #*:~~,,,,,
,,,,~~:*#@ @#*:~~,,,,
,,,~~:*#@# #@#*:~~,,,