The Lake Near Home

The lake near home is small. Too small for water sports — I can circle it in a canoe four times in half an hour — and surrounded everywhere by forest, so there are no distant views. You can always see the far shore.

But that smallness is exactly its gift. There's no boat traffic, no noise, and so it fills with life. Water birds nest along its edges and raise their chicks here; even the fish feel safe, since the fishermen think it isn't worth their while. A little paradise.

Water lilies cover it, blooming all summer, their white flowers swaying gently among the shoreline rocks. That juxtaposition is what I drew — the rugged grey of Scandinavian stone against the exquisite white of the blooms. Two worlds, rough and delicate, in one quiet place.

An original drawing. Signed.

Jolanta