It's Pretty Quiet on the Lake

It’s pretty quiet on the lake now

before the summer folk arrive in a week or two

with their speed boats’ roar, and skis,

or the slow rumble of labored motors

pushing pontoons around the water’s edge,

the voices of summer revelers echoing unseen,

un-natural sounds from distant camps;

but for now, this early evening, I’m content

with the paddling of my canoe, a soft caress,

the loon’s lone cry calling shrill and mournful,

and the tree frogs, summer peepers, rhythmically

disturbing the silence of the lake.