The water's fine

It’s only Monday?! Oh brother.

Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt: Try your hand at writing a poem about a remembered, cherished landscape. At some point in the poem, include language or phrasing that would be unusual in normal, spoken speech – like a rhyme, or syntax that feels old-fashioned or high-toned.

This one made me laugh because I feel I am always throwing in something high-toned that throws off my poems. Now I get to do it on/with purpose. Also, lots of childhood memories coming up with this latest batch of prompts. Enjoy this throwback to the most memorable part of summer camp.

Polar plunge

Every morning, the lake is a cup
of tea. Steam swirling over soupbowl. It’s easy
to convince yourself before your first jump
into night-chilled broth,
teeming 

with old life — feet wrinkling at fish
undertoe, or anything childmind can imagine
in the dark below. Cabin Six
stays up all night telling tales and fearsome lies
and we sleep in our spandex, ready
to rise

to the challenge. Every morning, running
down the wooden planks, dodging splinters,
chasing bravergirls and jumping before you
can think.