Mazinaw, lake of my being, sister confidante
what sacrilege if I as a woman
let the moods of mankind
and my human relationships
the mysteries of melancholies of character
chisel away at the glory of my visit
to your side

these too infrequent days
when I am free to
make my pilgrimage to
your Ontario Gibraltar
must be honored

on grey-green silkwaters as on this dawn
in wake of a night of heavy rain
gentle shivers of ripples roll to me
silence encircling
and I remember
earlier years that brought me
missing, pining for, or escaping someone
their harsher ways, temptations or indifference
perhaps mere incompatibility
with me, or longing for
more than life could let me give, then

I've broken boughs and cleared the trail to you
to watch the sunrises and sunsets, unmarred
yield to your familiar, open arms

human life is not simple
as the back and forth
of your shoreline waters

nor strong, as the permanence on your
rose-blushed breast

today I've made a fresh vow
that I will keep reunion first priority
at this place
suppress my mourning
for relationships gone wrong, threatening
to, or just gone
dusted away before alighting

you are my sister here, you and your land
that has possessed me now for two decades
and celebrates my secrets
I divulge to the womb of your mosaic
to lock inside

perhaps one day to show
someone who will savour
as I do, all your splendour
for the first time

08/29/2001

Posted on 07/19/2004
Copyright © 2025 Maureen Glaude