Madeline Island, Lake Superior, Wisconsin

In memory of Molly, Peggy Schwarz’s dog

Yesterday, Stockton Island,
Michigan Island, the Porcupines—
all quilted with fog.
This morning they are visible, but remote,
purple behind the watercolors
of Superior’s blue. I wander

the beach with Molly,
whose golden fur ripples in all directions.
I move more slowly, searching
through layers of sand for agates
and other chalcedony.

She stops and turns to see if I am following.
She always wants more time
to weave in and out of coves,
stir the driftwood,
nuzzle her nose in and out
of small caves, bark
at gulls tilting overhead.

I give her that, I’m gathering
rubies striated with pearl,
dark green jade, swirled
clusters of amber, even though
I know the brilliance of rocks
will fade as dreams do
after they are lifted
from the rivers of sleep. I pocket

the ones richest in color. I stop
my search for early morning
jewelry and begin to jog
into the dog’s bright day, picking up
the pace, trying to catch up,
as she fades further from me,
lapping up the fresh morning.

go to the State Fair
to be a loyal Minnesotan,
but if you do go
You don’t have to run the gauntlet
of cotton candy vendors, get snarled
like a cat in it’s sticky yarn;
You don’t have to deny your acrophobia
and try out all the machines that are geared
to drive you up beyond a sense of return;
You don’t have to mourn a childhood
that didn’t give you the responsibility
for raising a sheep, a hog or a heifer;
You don’t have to take summer houseguests
along to show off our native crafts or contemplate
all those tiny stitches sewn into quilts;
And you certainly can skirt the fowl barn,
not cluck at chickens who are the genetic pride
of some rather odd feathery folks.
Nor do you need to rush, dodge, or fight
the crowds or take small children along, no matter
how much they plead with you to do so.
But if you go, slow down,
observe what’s going on, the multitude of people.
And look, there’s a cloud of common grackles.
Have you ever noticed anything beyond their noise?
Seen how their shiny coats refract the light
and how lovely their feathers of purple and bronze?
Now relax with long pieces of observation
cooled by the breeze off the Tilt-a-Whirl,
and take colorful flight into the afternoon.