Today's poem is Creeps by Sidney Wade. It is read by Julia Bouwsma.
Creeps
today is just
like yesterday
except for
a swim
across
the lake
whose water
creeps
me out most
always has
since long ago
when I first
discerned
the rusty
devil's claws
in the shallows
under my
canoe
that seemed
to strain to leap
from the lake
bed up
to drag
me and my
tipsy craft
down in
their jagged
clutch
nevertheless
I jump
into the cold
black
water and tie
the swim
ring to my
ankle in case
of cramp
or worse what
could be worse
I'll tell you
it's when
you reach
the deep
interior
a quarter
mile
from either
solid shore
and that
dark beast
who's kept
to those
silent depths
forever
will look up
and notice
above him
in the blue
a feast
two naked legs
winking whitely
in the high
firmament
of his world
and who will
surely rise
to investigate
what might
be for him
a revelation
of flavor
and swirl
akin
to that
of an oyster
or maybe
a pearl
on toast