We leave
fire wood to replace what we used
the canoe back on the shore
water tank refilled at the spring
cottage clean, everything back in place

We leave
two swims a day
beachside fires
splay of the Milky Way
lull of the wind and waves at night

We take
seven more days of our lives
solitude, company, reflection, laughter
seven sensational sunsets
seven misty dawns
mouthfuls of lake water
clothes that smell of smoke

We take
a sense of somewhere
that is nowhere else,
memories and place,
pictures, sketchbooks, postcards—
a sense we put it all together

So my mini-book Summer ends. I am going to take a brief hiatus of 10 days and go to lovely Lake Kashagawigamog with my family to recharge. Book 7 when I get back.

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