I remember Mel.
We had seen him before at the beach.
He lived in the neighborhood.
Well we called it the beach.
It was mostly rocks and large concrete blocks and rubble and gravelly sand.
He had yellow aviator glasses.
He resembled James Coburn, the actor.
He was lanky and tan.
He had straight gray hair.
He came ashore from out on the lake.
with his kayak.
He built it he said,
From wood and canvas, obviously.
A nice double-ended paddle
he had, to pull it through the
cold crappy water,
parsing the dead alewives and seaweed.
He seemed to be pretty happy
letting us take turns in his boat.
Watching us from shore.
Paddling out and back.
I think I was with my friend George.
Probably.
All my friends and I were always at the beach.
Summer and winter.
Maybe more so in the winter, when
The surreal reigns.
When a man and a dog
appear out of the fog
walking toward you
from out on the lake.
And you hear them before you see them.
George overdosed on barbiturates and died before we got out of high school.