lighthouse

Midnight in the Sea of Darkness

/ Ken / rivrvlogr / 11 Comments

Midnight in the Sea of Darkness

Midnight in the Sea of Darkness

Stealing
silently from the shallow depths
of the offshore shoals

Darkness
stolen from the holds
of a thousand sunken ships

Crept
to the broad base
of the tapered, towering torch

Enshrouding
the magnificence of a midnight sun
in the fog of a final farewell

Swallowing
the hulk of a stranded ship
within the silence of the sea

Anchoring
yet another immortal member
of a fleet frozen in darkness

 
Standing Alone, Dwight’s poem at Roth Poetry, brought to mind this poem, written in 1998.
The background image is a print from an engraving by John Horsburg of J. M. W. Turner’s artwork of Bell Rock Lighthouse during a storm from the northeast, available at The Library of Congress and found at Wikimedia Commons.

Deux Presque Isles

/ Ken / rivrvlogr / 23 Comments
The Big Day

Presque Isle Lighthouse, Erie, Pennsylvania

At our wedding on the shore of Lake Erie, at the Presque Isle Lighthouse in Erie, Pennsylvania, we learned that Michigan also has a Presque Isle, with two lighthouses of its own. We traveled there last week and stayed at a B&B while we explored the area and a few of Michigan’s 124 lighthouses. (In Pennsylvania, Presque Isle rhymes with “desk” and “aisle.” In Michigan it’s a French pronunciation, rhyming with “eel.”)

Our route took us through Wisconsin, where we visited a close friend, past Green Bay and across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where we crossed the Straits of Mackinac on the Mackinac Bridge and on to Presque Isle, on Lake Huron. From there we went to Holland, Michigan, (with another visit with a friend in Lansing) before heading home to Missouri.

“Presque Isle” is French for “peninsula” (literally, “almost an island”). Presque Isle at Erie is a peninsula connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway, while Presque Isle, MI, is located on a narrow strip of land separating Lake Huron from the much smaller Grand Lake. In Michigan, the town (and county) use the French pronunciation for Presque Isle. There is another Presque Isle, with a lighthouse, in Michigan on Lake Superior and a Presque Isle, Wisconsin (on land separating two interior lakes), as well as Presque Isle in northern Maine, on a peninsula formed at the confluence of two streams. Michigan was such a wonderful experience that I’m sure we’ll be back, with more time to take in Lake Superior.

(In the slide show, each photo offers a link to a larger image.)

Wisconsin Lake Hummingbird
Wisconsin Lake Swallowtail
Wisconsin Lake Blue Heron
Manistique Lighthouse, Michigan
Mackinac Bridge
Mackinac Bridge from The Old Mackinac Lighthouse
Mackinac Bridge
McGulpin Point Lighthouse, Mackinaw City, Michigan
Old Mackinac Lighthouse, Mackinaw City, Michigan
Old Presque Isle Lighthouse
Presque Isle Sunrise
Old Presque Isle Lighthouse

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Grand Haven Lighthouse
Grand Haven Lighthouse (pier under re-construction)
Holland Harbor Lighthouse, Evening
Holland Harbor Pier
Holland Harbor Pier Sunset
Holland Harbor Lighthouse Sunset
Holland Harbor Sunset

We also toured the New Holland Brewery, in Holland, Michigan.

New Holland CO2 Release
New Holland Dragon’s Milk Stout Bourbon Barrels
New Holland Spent Grain Storage
New Holland Fermentation Tanks

Beyond Sight

/ Ken / rivrvlogr / 7 Comments

Beyond Sight

Beyond Sight

Standing watch,
darkest night
moisture laden.

Water stillness
haunting,
bellow faint.

Engine thrum,
passing wake,
sounds lost to silence.

Flash seen
too late,
rising rocks.

Fog will swallow the brightest light.

The optional prompt for Day 4 of National Poetry Writing Month/Global Poetry Writing Month at NaPoWriMo 2017 is to emulate Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations by writing a poem that hints at something without actually naming it.
Image: my photo of Buffalo Lighthouse, edited

NaPoWriMo 2017GloPoWriMo 2017