a lake will fill in over time
as the plants bloom and die
and bloom again
all within the soft confines
of the shore
soon the decades
of organic debris
will make the water murky
then it will become mud
then in even more time
and growth and decay
the mud will turn to marsh
then the marsh to a meadow
yes when we walk
through our woods
and come upon a clearing
often there was once
a small body of water there
the slow death of which
made a place for flowers
and knee high grass
which moves
almost like its liquid ancestor
in the fall wind
there’s a beauty in this decay
in how one thing falls apart
into the next one
how today’s murky water
are tomorrows columbines

Alexander Shalom Joseph is an award-winning poet, writer and playwright from Gilpin County, and is the author of seven published books. You can find his work and more information about him at www.alexandershalomjoseph.com.