Breaking Camp

At 1:00 in the morning
on a moonlit, starlit night
in northern Maine,
in the Allagash Wilderness
silent strangers, worked together
to break camp and set out onto the still water
into the lake, toward the river, running north
heading out into the darkness, heavy dark
shadows from the full moonlight
the moon dancing on the lake, teasing, urging
entrancing the band of canoeists,
hushed silence through all of us
a pact unspoken but honored
a covenant of peace, stillness, reverence
knowing somehow each of us
how special these moments were
how treasured they are still
thirty years later
as I write these lines
remembering so well
how the shivers felt that night
when the only sound was the
pearls of water
falling from my paddle
the keel of the canoe
pushing through the water
and the sound of my heart
because we were so quiet
in the dark

November 23, 2006 18:00

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 20,790+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.