Nick Blocha 12/30/2024
Dated outlines, on the shore
Sometimes green, or turning blue
Now its frozen, and again
When summer’s here, waters splashing
Against the floating, holding still
Boats are ready, for me and you.
I’ll remember, the ways it were,
Never more
the blackbirds piping
In the brushes, and the bark
Of growing trees, where not before
Here was prairie, and wetlands too.
Cars roll by. The road is sturdy,
Semis carry
things that don’t get used.
Buildings stand, all around us
Along the shore,
Where once was blue, now is green
Black with asphalt,
Warm in winter,
Crazed in summer’s dancing tune.
Don’t let summer, nor change, abhor
The quiet silence
That came before.
Don’t let winter, nor darking sun
Cloud around you, still
Here at Lakeside, will blossom more.
Through the windows, from long ago
See the paintings in the grass
and the water, we need still pass
testing samples
and learning more.
All the ghosts, let linger on
Now in daylight, and beyond
Where songs still heard
From rightful hearts, are rightful sung.
How Earth changes,
And loving too
In the chaos, and the quiet
Toil not on why it’s happened,
Only that which you can do.
Let wave crash over,
No wind push down,
Drink the water
Breathe the air
Listen for your working sound
In noontime sunrays,
And midnights cold,
Watch the cars, and products hold
Not over so, but many more
Still and silent,
Laughing loud,
Gods around us, in the clouds
In the daylight
On the air
Feel the heartbeat
Evermore
Life still splashing
Waters turning
All around us
On the shore
About The Author
Nick Blocha is serving as a Land and Water Steward via Green Iowa AmeriCorps at the Iowa Lakeside Labs (ILL) in Milford, Iowa. Sister lab to the state hygienists in Iowa City, ILL analyzes water samples from around the state, hosts researchers and students, artists and writers, and aids in a number of environmental and community efforts with a multitude of partnering organizations and government agencies.
With a background in the arts and storytelling, and as a long-time environmental enthusiast, Nick grew up as a barefoot hippie in the woods of North Carolina and Atlanta, and values the service they can provide and assist with via the GIA program. Nick seeks to focus on the spaces where human society and nature intersect and coexist in harmony.