The Inland Seas, A Poem
Great Lakes Boat, The Rising Sun, Just Before She Went Down in the Manitou Passage
This poem is my response to Ann Carr's challenge. She based her challenge on a hub by Patricia Scott. Ann challenged us to write a poem or prose on one of four topics introduced by Patricia Scott. The four choices were as follows:
- "Around the Corners"
- "Over the Hills"
- "Go Beneath the Waves"
- "Through the Wind"
My poem focuses on , "Go Beneath the Waves". The poem is about a part of Lake Michigan that is seven miles from my home. The photos feature the wreck of the Great Lakes Boat called, The Rising Sun. I have snorkeled around this wreck and it was a sureal experience. I want to share a link for a hub I wrote about this particular Great Lakes shipwreck, https://owlcation.com/humanities/Rising-Sun-Story-of-a-Great-Lakes-Shipwreck.
The Inland Seas
Halfway between the equator’s band
And the pole at the northern extreme
In the hemisphere west
Fresh waters thrash
Against the shores of two great countries.
Glaciers crept across the northern steppes
Then retreated to whence they came.
Ice carved, then melted
And filled the basins
Which man learned to navigate.
At parallel forty-five lay two isles
offshore of the sand dune main.
Waves struck their crafts
and sent them alas
To the depths and dark cold graves.
Natives called the dunes, Sleeping Bear.
The islands were her lost cubs.
Between mother and babes
Was called by shipmates,
The infamous Manitou Passage.
The Rising Sun Immediately After Going Down
Ships that skirted the passage lost days
But the shortcut was riddled with shoals,
Boulders delivered
From the north by glaciers,
Lay in wait for passing boats' hulls.
Many have navigated the passage,
Others failed and made it their last.
Sixty-eight lie at rest
In Manitou,
Their stories lost to the past.
The Rising Sun Today (Video Used By Permission)
© 2020 Chris Mills
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Comments
AUTHORThank you, Miss Dora. In 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake superior. All 29 crew members died. You are right these are sad stories
Sad ending, but the story is beautiful in form and phraseology. Good work!
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Verlie Burroughs, Thank you. Your comment/compliment means a lot to me. One of my goals as a writer is to give new life to history.
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Venkatachari M, Stories of excitement, heroism, and tragedy can be found all around the world. As writers, we have the opportunity to keep these stories alive.
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Brenda, Thank you for spending so much time understanding this poem and the article. This is exciting, tragic history.
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Shauna, As I snorkeled around the wreck, I wanted to know more about these people. I wanted to know what led to this end. That is what motivated me to write one comprehensive article and one poem about this and other shipwrecks in the Manitou Passage.
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Sankhajit Bhattacharjee, Thank you for reading and for your kind words.
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Thank you, MG Singh
Brilliant write Chris, your verse and rhyme remind me of Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', a favorite poem of mine. You are a gifted writer to be able to create compelling work in so many different genres.
A very interesting poem in response to the challenge. You have portrayed the scenery very well with some thrilling, heart-throbbing stories that are not known to me.
Thanks, Chris, for bringing forth these unknown facts of our geography.
Chris,
You did a wonderful job on penning this challenge.
After reading your article then coming back and reading your poem again I can see it all clearly.
Interesting that you have snorkeled around it.
Thanks for sharing.
Take care.
Nice job, Chris. Your poem brought forth something of which I was not aware. So sad for the ship and crew. I can only imagine what it must have felt like as the ship was going down.
What went through your mind as you snorkeled around the wreckage? I think I'd be a bit freaked out.
I want to know more, so I'll be checking out the hub you pointed us to.
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'The Inland Seas' is an excellent poem.
I enjoyed it.
This is a very nice poem.Thank you
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Thank you, Pamela. This is a topic of great interest to me.
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Ann, I will know about Scott's adventure in a couple of days. Any work regarding endangered species is valuable. Especially when man is the cause of an eminent extinction.
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Liz, mine was a snorkel dive, which can be quite an experience. I was able to run my fingers along the planking and look into the boiler holes. It is amazing to be able to touch a moment of history.
You certainly met Ann's challenge with this wonderful poem. I think this is an excellent poem that I enjoyed very much.
That must be a great experience for your son; alone with stunning nature for 4 days! I envy him!
Ann
Thos is a well-written, atmospheric poem. The dive must have been quite an experience.
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Hello, Eric. Thanks for stopping by and reading.
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Ann, it isn't my best attempt at poetry, but the history it contains is rich. My son left this morning on a ferry for the island. Because of the virus, the National Lakeshore is closed. That means he will be the only person on the island for four days.
Thank you much Chris
This is great, Chris! It is educative and entertaining. I didn't know anything about the Manitou Passage. Thanks for rising to the challenge. I shall put your link on my hub.
Great that your son is volunteering to monitor the Piping Plovers - what a lovely name!
Ann
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John, It was in the past, but with modern navigating equipment, it is the water pathway of choice. Every boat, whether pleasurecraft, oreboat or other shipping craft uses the passage. But before modern navigation technology, it was a risky challenge every time. By the way, starting tomorrow, my son will be spending several days on the North Manitou Island monitoring the Piping Plovers. These are an endangered species of birds. He has done this for several years as a volunteer with the National Parks Service.
A good poetic response to Ann’s challenge Chris. Manitou must be one treacherous passage.
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