I went swimming in the lake.
I slowly let my clothes
Slide down on my ankles,
And put on the suit.
Of a scared naiad.
I stirred the mud off the rocks,
Disturbing the light ripples,
And dipping my pearly skin
Into the calm freshness of the waves.
A full moon under the sun.

I parked my car by the woods,
Followed the short path on foot
Edged on both sides with tight pine trees
Like the straight walls of a hallway.
Not a sound, not a soul around.
The pure blue water beckoned me,
And I went down to touch the shore.
The moon touching the mirror
Drew a circle around me.

The fear of the bear invaded me.
Alone here, surrounded by bird songs,
What would become of to me
If the bear came to find me in the woods,
Naked as a worm and unarmed,
And nowhere to hide?

But I went swimming in the blue lake.
Because if my life can be shortened
If the hungry bear comes to eat me,
I don't want to live in regret
Of never swimming
In the lake at the end of the trail,
Of never laying my feet down
On the mud of the rocks
And drying my white shoulders
In the breeze that caresses the lake
And tickles the black snout of the bear.

Let him hunt another tourist,
Another prey on the pathway.
I let bead on my skin
The last few drops of water
And I smell the scent of pine trees.
And my soul is at peace, at last.