Lake Sabrina | Nature Poem, Water Rights, Eastern Sierra
Lake Sabrina
Green and tall, you stand above the blanket of white, frozen to the earth.
I forget, you are to thank for my breath of air, and
Do not consider you on this walk.
My hands are cold and I want the sun to crest
Shining those warming rays of light upon my bundled body
Which resides next to the clear water of Lake Sabrina.
Damned to make power and supply water
So a desert can be an oasis
A few hundred miles away
Crunching under my feet, I leave a trail in the snow
Showing my past
But you can’t tell how I held myself with each step.
Cold and worried, I would have been hunched over. Maybe,
I was proud of my human brothers for thinking ahead
But then again, I might have been ashamed of their greed.
Unable to support myself, I recognize the need
For comfort, grocery store meats and veggies, and tap water.
But, I dream of sustaining myself and a family, one day.
For now, I will continue to breath and look around
Bask in the sun’s warmth and
Consider these evergreens spotted across the landscape.
What is this poem about?
While hiking around Lake Sabrina—just outside of the city of Bishop, CA— in the winter, I sat down to watch the sun poke out from behind the range in the distance. As the wind picked up, I hunkered behind a rock to write this poem. Lake Sabrina is a summer destination that keeps holds water for Los Angeles.
In this poem, I review an internal dialogue I have with myself about the human race. What has been our role in sustaining society, yet relocating the natural resources of this planet. In terms of global warming, how far are we willing to go before we will realize our impact? Are we greedy, or, are we uneducated about the long term impacts of our actions?
Let me know what you think in the comments below. This piece is made as art, which means it is meant to be a conversation starter.
