We are a band of brothers, a fleet of sisters and mothers, fellow-travellers into the dense thicket of lakes and streams, portages and places we will visit. We live on the tide of wandered imaginings. We wait and wrestle with uncertain weather, our eyes always trained to an indifferent sky. We gather our purchases, give a pat to our canoe, ground our packs in open ports and fly towards the first carry. Eager to be off, Ready to separate from the accustomed world to the reckless, free-flight instigations of nature. There is our healer. There is our dutiful friend. There is the medicinal we require from the fast flurry, from the dour and demanding clan. We leave our cars behind, call to the others, laugh with serious purpose, watch for our compasses to take us down the lake, to aim us towards our first liberation.
From the book Nature's Poetry of Life: Who's Watching Who? Available at Amazon or at local Grand Marais bookstores.