Poem in the Time of Cholera

The Lake

You have always tried
to hold the world
afraid to look away
afraid that if you let go
even for a moment
the world would fall into darkness,
drown in chaos,
irretrievable.

Imagine the calm of a hidden lake
as blue as June
no boats
no fishing
not even children skipping stones
no one.

Here is
a body of water
that has never been discovered
the lilting sand at the depths,
the flashing passage of silent fish,
water as clear as
the day God created it.

You don't have to hold the world.
The world holds you.

-Star Saint Claire