We relish lounging by the lake,
watching emerald waves lap
the shallow, grass-lined shore,
summer breeze caressing our faces,
nestled under canopy of oak leaves.
Hearing the cluttered world stutter
and slow its mind-numbing whirl
on a tilted, groaning axis.

Gazing at the glittering water’s
cascade of low-cresting ripples
in afternoon sun mesmerizes
our minds, downshifts them to idle
like napping Canadian geese
sprawled across the lawn.

But the light wind can’t cool
our slowly simmering bodies,
growing heated under intense glances.
Sparks fly as our fingertips touch.
Lightning flashes, echoes brightly
across the longing pools of our eyes.
A refreshing afternoon storm begins.

Image credit: Photograph by John C. Mannone of the Tennessee River by a Knoxville country club (July 2019).

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Wesley (Wes) D. Sims

Wesley Sims has published two chapbooks of poetry, When Night Comes, Finishing Line Press, Georgetown, Kentucky, 2013, and Taste of Change, Iris Press, Oak Ridge, TN, 2019.  His work has appeared in Connecticut Review, G.W. Review, The South Carolina Review, Liquid Imagination, Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel, Breath & Shadow, Plum Tree Tavern, American Diversity Report, Artemis Journal, Poem,  and others.

Latest posts by Wesley (Wes) D. Sims (see all)

• Cedar Christmas Tree by Wesley Sims - December 16, 2021
• Stage of Gloom by Wesley Sims - February 17, 2021
• Conversation with Cousin by Wesley Sims - October 15, 2020