elves live in the land      
     beyond the great dam.        
  it was  built in the late  sixties.   
    the elves came  to us then.     
                      
                      
 they  were  very  manipulative,  and  we 
 came  to trust them.          us 
 kids  would play  down at the water even 
 though we were  not allowed.       
     sometimes  the sluice would  close 
 entirely,  and  the  river  at the  dams 
 foot would dry up, revealing  the  rocky 
 water  garden   that  had  been   hidden 
 beneath, and  we would go there.     
      before  the  dam  opened again, 
 there  would be  a signal, but the elves 
 would make us not hear  it, and suddenly 
 we would find  the water rising, already 
 at our  knees.               
                      
   by then the elves  would  be gone.