A sensitive bulldog who lives in Marquette
is not one to forgive or forget
Once left all alone
to mope by the phone
He still growls: Don’t dare call me your pet!
A high stakes gambler who lives in Marquette
is in Nevada alone and in debt
Now homeless in Reno
behind a casino
he craves just one more game of roulette
2/8/22
Technically, not a sea at all,
Lake Superior churns up its share of sea storms.
There is not a lot to do in Marquette, Michigan:
Except for high school drivers to "buzz the gut",
Or cruise past a courthouse where "Anatomy" was filmed.
You could smoke dope or drink underage
Under a disused, fourteen story ore pocket dock.
Rusted off shards of flat black paint
Fall on the gently sloshing waves.
There is a breakwater of dumped cement blocks
That has a chain-linked fence and sign that says,
DANGER! NO TRESPASSING!
But of course, the young ones do.
And better yet if a sea storm comes.
Maritime law forbids including those who drown
As sailors lost at sea.
In the gray dawn, ghostlike,
A mist rises over the lake
Like a floating whisper.
My shorts and tee shirt
Are damp and clammy
From hanging on the bedpost
Near the open window.
The dock is slippery, and
The yellow kayak slips
Soundlessly into the water.
The paddle barely ripples
The breathless surface.
I am adrift in my imagination.
I am a loon, skimming
The water with its haunting cry.
I am the Indian Hiawatha
In his birchbark canoe.
I am Jacques Marquette,
Exploring the Mississippi River,
Watching for Indians.
I am a lone leaf, drifting.
I am the wind and the air
And the thick gray fog.
I am the water itself,
Calm on the surface but
Teeming with life, as it
Wends its way to the sea.
I am the wind and the rain,
The sun and the clouds.
I am all things in this
Haunting, misty world.
As the fog slowly lifts,
Lightens, and turns golden,
I slip back into myself and
Paddle toward the shore.
Baldwin, Michigan is a fascinating town to see.
It is the county seat of Michigan’s Lake County.
Just over a thousand residents call Baldwin home.
Many summer vacationers come here to roam.
The town is a great place for camping and hunting.
Others come here for the canoeing and fishing.
Lake County has many lakes and rivers here.
The Manistee National Forest is near.
The “Blessing of the Bikes” is an annual festivity.
“Troutarama” is another great activity.
The Pere Marquette River is a Blue Ribbon fishery.
Another great attraction is the Shrine of the Pines.
If you want to get to Baldwin, just follow the signs.
There’s a lot to see and do in this town in Michigan.
It is a place worth visiting again and again.
http://www.michigan.org/City/Default.aspx?city=G2791