Camping

My white-walled castle stands agleam

Reflected in the limpid stream,

And I, seated in solitude,

Am king of river and of wood.

My kingdom is the world afar,

The trees and hills my subjects are.

My boat with which to cross the seas

Lies idly swaying ‘neath the trees;

t is the only battleship

I need upon this lonely trip.

My rod, my only tool of war,

Stands close beside my castle door.

Up, up between the trees of green

A spiral streak of smoke is seen;

It is my camp-fire, burning low,

And dying in the afterglow.

The sounds of strife have died away,

And quiet crowns the close of day.

My white-walled castle is my own,

I rule supreme upon the throne.

I’m guarded by each towering tree,

I own the waters under me.

I drink of earth and sea and sky –

What worldly king so rich as I?

June 23, ‘08

                           

                                                                                                           “The Capting”

                                                                                         Kezar Lake, North Lovell, Maine