ISTOPOGA LAKE

By Lois Jamieson

I wrote this poem a number of years ago after a family visit at a cottage on Istopoga Lake in central Florida. I had the good fortune to experience all that I describe in the poem.

                                 The Lake Comes Alive

The lake comes alive

when White Egrets fly

and Ospry dive

seeking a fish.

And double Hibiscus

all pink, red and white,

peak out from

Fan Palms

to see a

tall Sandhill Crane

strut by on his

black stocking legs.

An aristocrat

out for a stroll.

Turkey Buzzards,

on perches above

gray-green

matted moss,

stonily stare

down below.

where an

armed Armadillo

burrows his nose

in the ground.

And there on the grass,

a stately Blue Heron,

raises his head to the sound

of a wild turkey bark.

And from over the lake

hears a dog

barking back.

The lake comes alive.