Sestina

1996 was a year that changed my life.
My first sight of my journey was Flathead Lake.
I rounded a corner in the road and saw a big expanse of blue water.
I was in love.  My first year there was a record snow storm.
A good sign.  I lived in Smith Valley on Sherman Road.
For weeks my Geo was buried in snow.

For months, the view was only snow.
I had so much fun in my life
then.  I hiked, walked up the road
to Hidden, Avalanche, or Lion Lake.
Winter drives through a snow storm
were a blast, like a splash of cold water.

In July, I was the Weeping Wall, a water
fall made from melting snow.
It is amazing the quiet of a storm
as I walk or drive I reflect on life
and how beautiful it is. Flathead Lake,
and St. Mary's lake are along side of the road.

After a day long hike, we hitchhiked up Going-to-the-Sun Road.
All we need is bottled water
to quench our thirst, and a swim in the lake
or let the dogs roll in the snow.
The Flathead Valley added magic to my life.
The beauty and magic, the sun and the storm

were a gift to me from nature, yes even the storm.
Putting the truck in four-wheel drive, almost getting stuck in the road
and hiking a Big Mountain trail was a part of my life.
My adventures there were as nourishing as fresh water.
The year of the record snow
we drove to lake McDonald and walked on the lake.

I wanted to walk all the way across the lake
but there were huge cracks.  The storm
on the way to Bigfork when the snow
was coming down in huge flakes and the road
could barely be seen was like a glass of cold water
on a hot summer day. Water gives us all life.

Thank you Flathead lake, and Sherman and Jellison road,
for every storm, river, and lake water,
for 9 years and record snow and for giving me life.