Fat Trek

I stumble over oak roots
on my fat trek down to the lake,
ignore jingling ice cream vendors,
Dunkin’ Donuts shops, Krispy
Kreme allure.

Rorschach patterns on my back,
I stop for water at a tactile
stone bubbler, not distracted
by the lemonade fountains,
root beer floats or sugared
hyacinth teas and I avoid
I-HOP for lunch.

This time, personal-trained
and pilate-stretched, I arrive
at the pier, settle into a rowboat
and maneuver to the middle
of the lake where I feather
the oars, transfixed by a fish
with shimmering silver scales.

Finally, I float my boat
on the briny blue, thin.

Jan Ball‘s 338 poems published poems have appeared in various journals, for example: ABZ, Mid-American Review and Parnassus. Three chapbooks and one full length poetry collection, I Wanted to Dance With My Father, were published by Finishing Line Press. Orbis, England, nominated her for the Pushcart in 2020. Jan was a nun for seven years then lived in Australia for fourteen years with her Aussie husband and two children. She completed a dissertation at The University of Rochester: “Age and Natural Order in Second Language Acquisition,” then taught ESL at RIT, Loyola and DePaul Universities, back in Chicago. She is a member of the Poet’s Club of Chicago.