The Journey

When I say the lake is like glass I mean the kind of glass on which I once loved to skate,back in the days when I waited patiently for the Zambonito shave the frosted chunks off the iceand the pools of water to evaporate.I remember lugging a...

Is it okay to be afraid? I whisper,my words slipping out unintentionallyas lightning illuminates an angry skyand thunder explodes like circling cannons.  Sails down, we huddle in the companionway,knowing the mast on our sailboat is a conduit for the electrical fury...

Before sailing out the channel,an army of sweat beesemerges from the forestas if telling meit’s time to leave. ​Thank you to Mother, who agreed to move into respite care while Rubin and I sail out the channel and head north. (Respite care is designed to provide...

Death, certainly, is the most permanent. Like the time my older sister lost her kittento the teeth of the dog next door. Or the morning he, who could no longer speak, said goodbye to his wife with his eyes. But I also have wept after...

Two deaths in three days. A brother. A poetry friend. And yet, the robins, finches, cardinals, and chickadees are singing from the trees at dawn. Their songs remind me it is a new day rich in possibilities.​How do I want to live my “one wild and precious life?”...

As I was not thereto see the young fox  emerge from its den beneath the neighborhood bench,witness the inquisitive eyes confronting the camera,watch its black boots boundacross the sloping dune,the white tip of its tail disappearamong the first...

Photo is of Ludington’s harbor, where the first lines of this poem were written. Celebrating decades of difference ​He says our sailboat is like a cottage on the water.I am drawn to the unknown that beckons from beyond.He taught me to feel the wind on my...

Sunrise, Racine Yacht Club, ​the beginning of my Lake Michigan sailing adventures 43 years ago ​​On April 24th, I will be speaking about a lake I have loved since childhood. In preparation, I reread my book, Uncharted Waters: Romance, Adventure and Advocacy on...

For the first time in four years, I was asked to speak about Lake Michigan. I do not believe in coincidences. I immediately said yes.  COVID, family, age-related health issues, a deep resolve to make access to nature easier for the mushrooming senior population,...

I am told ​"Yoopers" is a common name for those living in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, above the Mackinac Bridge. "Trolls" are those who live south, below the bridge. MaryDear Trolls, We are the five benches that look south across Lake Michigan and the Straits of...

In January, I posted a story about finding shade for one of Mother and my favorite benches. Situated on the Heinz Walkway overlooking Lake Macatawa, the west-facing bench was the only bench protected from the afternoon sun. We called it “Cottonwood Corner,” a place...

It is thought she died of post-release mortality, her 13-foot long, 1500-pound body traumatized by what happened after the hook was firmly embedded in her jaw.  I suspect the great white would have preferred to die a natural death; not to have been dumped at...