The Lake and Eliza

Lest I rest through autumn's crest

For many moons of discontent;

To thine soul mate, I professed

This cabin echoes my lament.

I wonder where thou hast gone

My once sanguine spirit of yore;

And why thy visage is withdrawn

From tranquil waves upon the shore.

I keep hearing whispers from the lake

Day by day, the voice draws nearer.

I find myself begin to shake

As the message becomes clearer.

“You have to…”

“I have to what?!”

“Please tell me!”

The spectral voice then faded away.

I swear I’ve heard that voice before.

Before my mind begins to fray

I long to hear that voice once more.

I took the boat out passed the birch tree

Then sat there, floating for hours.

Yet could not resonate her voice with thee

Then sullen skies brought forth showers.

On those placid days that followed

I dreamt a dream of darken waves;

That engulfed me, yet left me hollowed

Deep beneath their watery graves.

Tis mid November, I still remember

I shall not leave this bed of mine.

No saccharine breeze, nor torrid ember

Could free this sorrow, I confine.

On such a weary winter’s eve

I hear her whispers in my ear.

I race to the lake, in hopes to perceive

A woman in white then starts to appear.

“It can’t be… Eliza?!

But you…”

“You have to move on from past turmoil,

Too long, have you tortured yourself.”

“You were with me this whole time?”

“I can’t bear to see you hurting like this,

It wasn’t your fault my love.”

“I can’t help but to blame myself,

Eliza, If only I…”

We courted amidst the evening mist

Her eyes reflected the dying light.

The crickets where chirping, as we kissed

Down by the lake, what a perfect sight.

Eliza and I, felt so elated

Our lives were intermeshed as one.

The union that our hearts created

Shone bright enough for everyone.

Eliza was always beguiled

By how the lake glistened at sunrise.

With a single glance, she smiled

As rays of twilight flooded her eyes.

With my Eliza, I saw no faults

She always laughed whenever we tried

To dance a simple ballroom waltz,

As we stumbled along, side by side.

On every Sunday afternoon

Eliza and I would fish by the docks.

Yet found ourselves inopportune.

The only thing we caught was rocks.

Eliza laid festoons across our bed

That she assembled with delicate care.

Then used the flowers that were dead

To grace atop her golden hair.

We huddled by the fireplace

Whenever beset by December’s chill

Then fell asleep, pressed face to face

Much like the lake, so frozen still.

There was this most intriguing dove

That sang a song to greet the dawn.

Eliza fed it with such love

Atop the lamppost it perched on.

On sunny days we took the boat

Out to Driftwood Island Pass.

Then read aloud the poems we wrote

In laden fields of willow grass.

Eliza’s energy surpassed my kind

The times we ran along the sand.

Yet never once left me behind

For she would always hold my hand.

Autumn was Eliza’s favorite time of year

She told me so, with such a smile.

The leaves-a-luster, filled her with cheer

That season with her, made life worthwhile.

When we camped at Pale Stone Meadows

Eliza would catch fireflies in a jar

To intermingle with the shadows;

That could be seen from near to far.

A leaf afloat, on water’s glassy veil

Was how Eliza wanted to be seen.

A leaf so lovely, yet so frail.

A lake so lucid, and pristine.

On one stormy Thursday-break

Our anniversary had arrived.

Eliza began to kiss me awake

Despite the rain, our love had thrived.

The thoroughfare we took into town

Was paved with blocks of cobblestone;

And all the oak trees were cut down

Beside the road, where they had grown.

Grimville is where we went to trade

And barter with the common crowd.                     

The hustle and bustle of this arcade

We found to be most terribly loud.

Some days we rode our horse, D’Artagnan

Throughout the trails of Pine Grove Peak.

Then down the banks of Cradle Canyon

Arriving at Spring Hollow Creek.

Some windswept nights, Eliza spoke

In such a tone of slumbers deep.

She’d hold me close, when she awoke

Then slowly drifted back to sleep.

When I was fraught by daily stress

And couldn’t take the outside world.

I watched Eliza’s silking dress

That flew about, each time she twirled.

So summer fell on our homestead

Then autumn set into fruition.

Two years had passed, since we had wed

With such a graceful repetition.

Then in one fell swoop

My life would change forever.

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   That familiar dove woke us to a brisk autumn day.

Eliza sprung out of bed with a childlike glee.

Then she jostled me awake in a playful manner,

which made it difficult for me to feel grumpy.

Eliza was drinking her tea on the edge of the pier,

with her legs dangling just above the

water’s surface.

I told her about my trip to Grimville, for an ongoing

bartering arrangement, and that I would be back

before nightfall.

Eliza brushed down D’Artagnan, as both of their

manes shone radiantly in the early morning sun.

She made a pouty face, then smiled before wishing

me a safe journey.

A final kiss farewell,

then I rode off to Grimville.

     In retrospect, it occurred to me that Eliza and I have

never spent more than half a day apart from each other.

It took a little over an hour before I saw the Grimville

sign arching over broad iron gates.

     I was starting to regret not having Eliza accompany me

for this particular bartering deal. For her beauty and

charm would smooth out any of my shortcomings.

     This town was overpopulated with an array of

unscrupulous characters. It took me several hours to

form a binding agreement in the fine print, but I

managed all the same.

     As I was walking down the smoke filled streets, a gypsy

woman had befallen me. “It’s not too late to know your fate”,

the gypsy said with a haggard voice.

“Ten coins for me

And you shall see;

How your life

Will truly be.”

     So I inquired her persistent plea, then we sat down

inside a tavern. She took my palm, then cast some jewels

that scattered across the table. Then she closed her eyes

with deep contemplation, and told me what my future

entailed.

“What you cherish most in life, is never set in

stone”, she said to me.

     I shrugged her off, and stormed out of the tavern in disbelief.

Then I loaded D’Artagnan for the journey home.

     So I had returned to my Eliza, just as dusk was beginning

to illuminate the lake in a hazy shade of auburn. Then I

unpacked the provisions that I acquired back in town.

Eliza greeted me like a flower would greet the sunlight,

and we embraced each other in a most beloved way.

    After we ate dinner, Eliza was walking to the lake, when

I watched her trip and get mud all over her legs. She 

laughed then blew me a kiss through the cabin

window. She then lifted her skirt up to her hips and

walked a couple feet into the lake to wash off the mud.

I was searching for a towel to bring to Eliza, when I

heard a scream, a scream so piercing that it shook

me to the very core. Eliza was calling out to me,

then I saw it.

     Pale arms flailing in the darkness. I ran to the boat

with a lantern and rope at hand. Eliza was an adept

swimmer, but there is no way she could have gotten

to the near center of the lake that fast. At that moment

I rowed to her with a pace that no one on earth could

dare match.

     “No, Eliza!” I shouted at the sight of her descending

Into blackness. I used the rope to link myself to the

boat, then dove into the murky depths. I couldn’t

breathe, not from the lack of air, but from the sight

of Eliza’s dormant body as I lifted her onto the boat.

     “This can’t be happening”, I kept saying to myself

over and over again.

”Come back to me!” I said, as I tried to breathe life

back into her. I kept pressing down, then breathing

into her soaked body. I was praying to see any signs

of movement, but I saw nothing. I looked at Eliza

with astonished eyes, to see no marks on her body

whatsoever. She was being pulled, I saw it!

What took her?

     I couldn’t stop gasping in tears as Eliza’s cold lifeless

limbs hung in my arms. I couldn’t help but think of

that gypsy from Grimville. Did she foresee this moment?

     For Eliza’s will, I laid her body in flames. Then I

took the boat and spread her ashes upon the lake

that she held so dear.

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“Eliza, if only I got to you sooner,

That night will forever be etched into my memory.”

“Shhhh, my love,

The only thing you’re responsible for,

Is how happy you made me feel each day.”

“I don’t have much time left here, my love,

But you have so much more life to live;

Away from this lake”

“Please don’t leave, Eliza.

Don’t leave me again!”

As I look back on that lake,

I feel calm, and frightened,

all at once.