Everybody Knows

Is everybody finished eating? Excellent!
Today's the day! Go have fun!
Some of them jump off their blankets, off the benches.
They run down to the water, tearing their shirts off on the way.
As one, they leap in and start splashing.
A beach ball, colorful and innocent, gets punched about.
Their carefree cheers are a feeling that everybody knows.
Others stay, keep their clothes on.
They sit and talk, with old friends and possible new ones.
Perhaps by day's end, some of them will become something more.
Their silent hope is a feeling that everybody knows.
Still others don't stay, but they still keep their clothing on.
They depart, some in groups, some in pairs, some alone.
A big lake like this one has many sights.
Sights that they've never seen before.
And they're curious to witness them for themselves.
Their nostalgic excitement is a feeling that everybody knows.
And I?
I stay as well, fully clad.
I clutch my companion in my arms.
Running my hands over her neck and body.
And then I strum, sending vibrations through her strings.
The sound of my guitar ripples through the air.
Some take notice and look our way, others do not.
I begin to play a song, a song my father taught me.
One that I someday hope to teach my children.
A song that somehow everybody knows.