Lake Natoma

Nature is healing
Chipmonks are running wild
Geese making cackling noises
That echo around
My brain is resting
Body is loosening what was tight
Eyes taking in the reflections on water
That just abound

Kayakers chirping
As they touch down on the shore
Kids under canopy setting up hookah to smoke
They argue in Arabic
A guy from the rental comes along
Collects 2 big paddle boards, hauls them away to lock

Dad with a son arrives
Then there's a second pair
They're playing music and speaking in Russian
The four of them
They grab life jackets
And I catch myself
Not being able to not understand what they say

Indian dad and mom
In sari, come down the stairs
They're being followed by 2 sons and daughter and son in law
I offer to take their picture
And for a second they stare
Then they decline and thank me, pretty much each and all

Lady is changing a child
Under a bushy tree
She's talking Spanish to her 2 friends, they nod
Wind carries sound to me
From picnic table under a giant tree
Group of Americans laughing at each other's jokes

All of these sounds
Are subdued by water and clouds above
Humans recharging in their habitat
One thing I miss is a hammock
Where I could climb
And peacefully rest knowing
The world is doing alright