,,,:~\=%## ##%=\~:,,,
,,:~\=%### ###%=\~:,,
,:~\=%#### ####%=\~:,
,,:~\=%### ###%=\~:,,
,,,:~\=%## ##%=\~:,,,
,,,,:~\=%# 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? ##%=\~:,,,
,,,,:~\=%# #%=\~:,,,,
,,,,,:~\=% %=\~:,,,,,
,,,,,,:~\= =\~:,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~\ \~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ ~:,,,,,,,,