CHI 91 DET 107
People who do not know the Great Lakes
Imagine them like other lakes
calm, still, glassy
Only bigger
Stocked with fish
Like the ones in their towns
Memorial Day picnics
And summer camp secrets
Safety
But the Great Lakes
Are not like those lakes at all
But like oceans
Standing at their shores
You see the roundness of the World
On their horizons
Roaring waves
Drowning out the
Clattering city
So powerful
So loud
Until now
Roaring waves
Slamming you down
Pulling you under
Reminding you who’s in charge
And it ain’t you
Now,
I imagine
When drowning
There must come a moment
Of acceptance--
hopefully
Depends on the drowner
A private moment--
Individual
When the cold
Gets a little less cold
And a new kind of fear
Lets you stop
Holding your breath
That moment
Only the drowner
Can decide
This final choice
This one last how and why
Giving us power
Over death
When the fate of the game
Has already been sealed
Imagine them like other lakes
calm, still, glassy
Only bigger
Stocked with fish
Like the ones in their towns
Memorial Day picnics
And summer camp secrets
Safety
But the Great Lakes
Are not like those lakes at all
But like oceans
Standing at their shores
You see the roundness of the World
On their horizons
Roaring waves
Drowning out the
Clattering city
So powerful
So loud
Until now
Roaring waves
Slamming you down
Pulling you under
Reminding you who’s in charge
And it ain’t you
Now,
I imagine
When drowning
There must come a moment
Of acceptance--
hopefully
Depends on the drowner
A private moment--
Individual
When the cold
Gets a little less cold
And a new kind of fear
Lets you stop
Holding your breath
That moment
Only the drowner
Can decide
This final choice
This one last how and why
Giving us power
Over death
When the fate of the game
Has already been sealed