Poolside

My heart ached for my friend.  At first, my surroundings only added to my sadness.  Clouds the color of old silver coins and shaped like profiles of long-dead leaders filled the sky.  Leafless trees filled the horizon.  

I walked up the bank a little way to a shallow pool hidden behind a wall of boulders. The calm of still water washed over me, as I stared into the peaceful pool.  A crayfish appeared to search in no apparent hurry for a new home. I wished him well. A school of minnows flashed by. Likely a bass or pike lurked where the shallow pool gave way suddenly to deeper water, waiting to ambush foolhardy fish swimming too close to the edge. 

I laughed at the idea of fish trash-talking.  “What’s the matter Mr. Pike, water too shallow for you to come get me?”  “Sorry, can’t hear you Minnow. Swim a little closer to the drop-off…”

Two ducks who hadn’t flown south floated peacefully at the edge of the pool.  Were they a couple of homebodies, staying behind and keeping each other warm?  I thought how lucky I was to have Dr. Deb, who warmed my heart on the darkest days.

Overhead hundreds of starlings flew in tight formations, ugly individually, but beautiful as they swirled and danced together.

“Sometimes you have to look twice to find the beauty in dark days,” I said to myself.

Today I will look for the beauty in life.

Dogged Determination ©2018 by Ken Montrose

Dogged Determination is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/