(A Collaborative Play)
* * * * *
We tiptoe out to the lake, careful not to wake the frogs or the dragonflies, though let’s be honest, they’ve probably been watching us all along. The sun stretches lazily across the water, painting it gold, teasing the ripples with each skipped stone.
One of us watches the halo of light settle on the reeds, the other feels it on our shoulders. The world is still, but full of quiet mischief, the sort that sneaks into laughter, into tiny splashes, into shared moments that last longer than we expect.
The following pieces are two takes on the same afternoon — two perspectives on the same lake, the same warmth, the same pause where everything else fades away.
* * * * *
“Halo Ripples” – Adam Wojcicki (Versebuster)
The lake holds its quiet,
a soft mirror for the sun.
Frogs call from the reeds,
tiny applause for the slow drift of tension
into the long, golden afternoon.
We sit beside each other,
breathing in the warmth,
letting the water move around us
like a halo light,
pulling each pause into stillness.
Words come slowly,
a ripple of thought, a pause,
then another –
each one a feathered step
on the calm surface of shared time.
Here, nothing is rushed.
The world softens.
The lake waits, the sun lingers,
and even the smallest frog
seems to nod in quiet approval.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^
Author’s Note: “This poem is my view from the shoreline of a quiet, imaginary lake afternoon. It’s part of a shared moment with my friend Elizabeth Scott, whose companion piece, "Kissed by the Light", explores the same scene from the heart. Two perspectives, one lake, and a little ripple of magic between us.”
^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ ________________________________________________________
"Kissed by the Light" – Elizabeth Scott (Songbird0926)
Light shimmers across ripples
on the water's edge.
The warmth caresses every inch of me
and tension starts to evaporate.
What began as an exercise in pretend
is now more lasting than what
I can see and touch.
A lake, a sundress, a blue sky
All ingredients in this magical potion
that is bringing me to life.
Reality is everything I am surrounded by –
the sunlight, the wisps of clouds,
the quiet.
Knowing that this beginning
will not disappear
I am left speechless
watching myself bloom.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Author’s Note: “This poem is my perspective of the same lake afternoon captured in Adam Wojcicki’s "Halo Ripples". While he describes the world around us, I explore the internal magic of that moment—two views, one afternoon, and one shared quiet spell of time.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^