ESCANABA - Summer is:
A dirty boy
Swaying back and forth
Article Photos
Karen Wils photo
Whether you’re relaxing on the shore of a lake, river or steam, take along a good book to keep you company.
In a tire swing
And eating watermelon
With the juice dripping
Down to his elbows
Then spitting the seeds.
Just dreaming
Just drifting
Summer is:
An old man
Asleep in his hammock
With his faithful hound
Snoozing below him
Both snoring loudly
And dreaming of hunting days of old
Just dreaming
Just drifting.
Summertime in Upper Michigan is pure poetry in action.
What prose, poem, novel or short story could match the beauty of a sunny, high 70's, outside-under-the-apple-tree day?
Whether you like to read mysteries, science fiction, or non-fiction, the perfect place to read right now is outdoors.
Most Yoopers know this and have a special spot all picked out. Maybe its on the deck or porch, on the lawn-chair or park bench, or sprawled out on the beach. Recreational reading in the summertime is like the icing on the cake.
Back in my younger days - before marriage and children - I had more reading time to enjoy. I remember reading "All Creatures Great and Small" (Herriot) by the sparkling shores of Little Bay de Noc, "The Bridges of Madison County" (Waller) within the roar of Tahquamenon Falls, and "The Bear" (Curwood) somewhere out in a swamp filled with lady slippers and cedar trees.
Besides all of the physical activity at camp or out camping, a good book is an important thing to have. After the hiking, fishing or canoeing, there's nothing like reading to relax by the campfire and watch the bats come out.
Have you ever read in a garden? The bright blossoms and butterflies almost merge into the story in the book.
Have you ever read poetry as the sun set into the western sky and all of the night creatures began to sing?
If you're a morning person, have you ever been out on the picnic table with a cup of coffee and a book while the sun was rising?
When the heat and humidity brew up a team of grey thunder clouds, have you read through a rainfall safe and dry beneath the screen porch?
Summer reading is not just a program for kids at the library. It's a great de-stressor for all of us.
Relax and read!
Summer is:
The smoke of a campfire
It's burn in
Burning heat
Then rises
Floating free
And circles about, higher and higher
Then it is gone!
Just dreaming
Just drifting.
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Karen (Rose) Wils is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Her folksy columns appear weekly in Lifestyles.