Isle Royale Reflections from the Upper Peninsula Poet Laureate

Trees reflect off a deep blue inland lake.

Paul Brown

I’ve retreated to Isle Royale many times to explore by backpack and canoe—adventure has never failed to ensue. On various trips, I’ve walked through a fresh moose kill near Lake Ritchie, paddled into terrifying white caps crossing Herring Bay, lost a staring match to a bull moose along the Minong, and donated more blood to the island’s mosquitoes than I care to recount. I’ve overheard wolf songs, loon songs, and silences I cannot even begin to describe. It is a sacred place, Isle Royale, from which I have never returned unchanged in some significant way. Following is an original poem that emerged from my most recent sojourn. I hope you find something therein to carry along on your own journey to the Good Place.

—M. Bartley Seigel, U.P. Poet Laureate

HUSHFUL AND STILL CLOSER COMES THE RED FOX

and chickadee, the turning of thistle

and thorn—I reach up into memory

tidally locked and phasing like moon glow

overhead, or down into the greenstone

billions of years beneath the trillium.

I’ve scant to say that not already sung

by the wind in the balsam and cedar,

or the stones at the bend of the river.

The steady beat of our own wolfish hearts.

The chorus that is starshine in our eyes.

The land that speaks when we've ears to listen.

About the Author

M. Bartley Seigel, 2021-2022 U.P. Poet Laureate, is an associate professor of Creative Writing and Literature at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI. He specializes in editing/publishing, emerging literature, literary magazines, and poetry. His work has appeared in multiple journals, magazines, books, and anthologies. Learn more here.

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