NORTHLAKE

In the interface between the warm water of the lake and the cooler air above, transpiring water molecules cool and condense, forming irregular columns of white mist.


Cool September morning—
nymphs dance above the lake.
Warped, surreal, ethereal spirits,
like smoke from smoldering fires
in the stark post-dawn air.

Neither here nor there,
neither moving nor static,
they hang above the lake
ascending all the time,
but never going up.