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.