Plunge

by Catherine Weiss

Your foot on ice
Tentative

At first
Cautious

The water
Must be cold

Both feet
The lake settles

Groaning
In protest

A flake falls
From a white sky

Your shuffling steps
Edge

Between reeds
Frozen upright

The water
Must be deep

You push forward
To the center

Do you think
Ice won't break?

Cracks form
From your weight

Eventually
We all fall through.