,~~^^*@### ###@*^^~~,
,~~^^*@### ###@*^^~~,
,~~^^*@### ###@*^^~~,
,~~^^*@### ###@*^^~~,
,,,,,~^*@# #@*^~,,,,,
,~~^^^**## 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? ###@*^^~~,
,,,,~~^@## ##@^~~,,,,
,~~^^****@ @****^^~~,
,~~^^*@@@@ @@@@*^^~~,
,~~~~~^@@@ @@@^~~~~~,
,~~^^*@### ###@*^^~~,