The bounty of the Great Manitou bestowed
ISLAND ODE
Winding two lane Island road, mottled shades of tan and beige
A faded yellow center-line, whose shoulders show their age.
Asphalt patches now and then contrast the browns and black
Split rail fences line the berms, all in Assiginack.
Boundless wildflowers border roads in every colored hue
Sandhill cranes in harvest fields strut tall in morning’s dew.
Protected harbors nestled in, amongst the island bays
Business still conducted by traditional handshake ways.
Postcard barns with long dirt drives, rolls of hay in fields
Gulls descend to gorge upon the bugs the cutting yields.
Tractors parked at days’ job end, awaiting morrow’s chores
Waves of wind-moved rapeseed beat against the hedgerow shores.
The Pow-Wows of First Nations, history played out in their dance
Their regalia flashing as they chant and spin and prance.
The sacred drums like heartbeats sound, deep echoes of the past
The Elders hope their wisdom is a memoried gift that lasts.
Water clear as crystal, solid rock ‘neath rippled top
Its depths draw eyes enchantingly, one’s vision cannot stop.
Smallmouth bass and walleyes, and lake trout, rainbows too
The bounty of Great Manitou has been bestowed on you.
Jim Geehring
Cincinnati, Ohio
