Sashiko (Day 33)

Sashiko

Summer among 

the thousand lakes, 

heat puddling 

in valleys, 

where glacier-cut mirrors 

reflect peaks 

striped with remnants 

of last winter's storms

You, stalking 

wild brown trout 

from the tree line, creeping 

around this, the first lake in, 

five miles from our car, 

which is ten miles 

from the paved highway, 

and (from there) another 

fifteen miles 

from the nearest 

outpost

I, kneeling on my 

flat rock,

at the base of our 

acorn-strewn campsite, 

wash the dust 

and sweat from my hair 

and cool my burning feet,

mindful of your progress

in relation to 

the setting sun

For hours, the blue 

of your shirt, 

threads the edge 

of the woods—

an elegant sashiko pattern—

appearing 

and disappearing 

from view, 

until, as evening falls, 

you are no more 

than a small 

speck 

on the 

farthest shore 

(c) 2017, by Hannah Six

Photo: US Forest Service