Passage 22.

Top-Top Mountain Bike Rides, # 9

The last time I saw such turquoise

was at the Great Mosque of Isfahan.

Lake Minnewaska is

the inverted dome

of heaven.

Climbing past

an abandoned orchard

cliffs of dripping water,

I skid to avoid

a scared black bear

hurtling

into the mossy woods.

“Blueberries.”

she thinks,

“That rolling yellow thing

is trying to get my blueberries.”

At Lake Awosting no trout live

in these acidic waters.

But a water snake frightens

a mother as she swims.

“Can’t you remove it?”

The young lifeguard looks down

at the plaintiff.

“It lives here.”