N-Sid-Sen Star
-after a week of Enneagrams

We draw pictures,
weave ourselves into circles,
become the nine-point star
of our lives together:
peacemakers, challengers, loyal ones.

On a sunny day we leave
Lake for river, unwind
our community like a string
of Christmas lights -
bright baubles of rafts and tubes,
snaking down blue water.

Cows blink lazily,
eagles prefer to stare;
we are a gaudy bunch -
all blistered and glowing,
laughter ringing the canyon.

Still, after all is done,
we will have walked on jagged rocks,
not water, danced in pavilions
that next week will echo our loss.

No matter
how many times we gather,
this star we create will never be the same.

Look around.
Remember.
It’s a brief moment.
It’s a bright moment,
as it burns across our sky.

Gayle Kaune
Sr. Hi Aqua Camp, 2005