an original poem by Gabrielle Krieger, a living shoreline specialist at Eagle Shoreline Protection - inspired by our work at Cedar Bay, Lake Superior
The deafening, lulling, crashing of the waves
That constant, mesmerizing beauty
Whitecap over wave over
Whitecap
Tumbling
Her scattered mist on the shore,
The rocks deposited along the beach:
Just evidence of her lovesong
Reaching out and retreating,
Simultaneously and always
In infinite return back to her very own self –
To the depths of her core
That effortless, endless cycle of energy
Of water
Of mineral
Of life
Through her relentless transformation,
She and those around her evolve.
Inevitably One,
Her beauty naturally reflects her energy
No matter the weather,
November gales
November waves
November wants no more than to be where she is –
To sing her lovesong
Perhaps only to enjoy
Herself.
Inspired by the desolate, yet striking shores of Cedar Bay on Lake Superior, this poem was written while storm-watching the chaos that is wind over water – the simultaneous creation and destruction that is a necessary part of life. I remember thinking that everyone should see the northern shoreline in the windy season; but that regardless of who is watching, she still flows and creates waves all the same. I remember feeling everything, imagining myself as that giant body of energy and fluid and life. I harbor all of that within me, as do all of us, but most of it is somewhere very deep. This self, who can navigate so many seemingly opposing forces at once, can be hard to reach when it’s at the bottom of an ocean-sized lake.
Sometimes it takes a storm or a big wave to stir You up.
Change, and tumble over yourself, and sing your lovesong
Even when it cannot be heard
Or absorbed
Or returned by another
Simply draw back into your Self,
That deep pool of energy,
And give way to your natural tides.
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