Many a day in the land by the bay,
The winds blow bleak and chill.
Snow and sleet make night of day
And test your strength of will.
A deep-down cold invades your bones
And makes you dream of sun.
But there will be no sun-washed stones
Until the winter’s done.
But it isn’t just the cold, you see,
That threatens your existence.
Cougar, bear, and coyote
All stalk in grim persistence.
Only the strong survive here long
In this northern Michigan clime.
The weak of heart do not belong;
They fail the test of time.
∞
This is the tale of Leelanau Lil,
Who stood up with the best.
Her memory is with us still,
Though her soul is laid to rest.
A cabin snug on Cedar Lake
Was home to Lil and the boys.
A single mom after the death of Jake
She never lost her poise.
She planted fruit and tilled the land
And put food on the table.
She fed the boys by strength of hand
And kept their home life stable.
Jake Lind had died the year before,
Crashing through the ice.
For the fish he caught, just three or four,
He paid a chilling price.
Lil found his rig near a jagged hole
And a knife stabbed through her heart.
She sobbed a prayer for Jake’s dear soul
And began a life apart.
The boys became her only joy
The tendrils of her love.
Protecting them was her full employ,
And she prayed for help from above.
Tim was ten, an adventurous lad,
Who loved the great outdoors.
He dearly missed his loving dad,
And tried to cover his chores.
Ned was five, a lively child,
Who romped with his dog Rover.
Reproofs to him were always mild
When his pants were stained with clover.
∞
One day in May when the sun shone strong
Lil was planting corn.
Her lilting voice found a pretty song
To regale the spring reborn.
Dibbling her way down the raised dirt rows
She set and covered corn seed.
But she stood back up and her posture froze
When she heard Ned scream in need.
Toward the house she ran in fear,
Alert to sudden danger.
Was her child in straits severe
Caused by foe or stranger?
She turned the corner and stopped in place,
A fearful sight before her.
Her shaking hands flew to her face
And events became a blur.
Ned was kneeling by the trees
Between the house and lake,
As if in prayer upon his knees,
Begging for safety’s sake.
To his left was a huge black bear,
To his right, a whining cub.
Lil gazed in horror at the pair,
Then reached for a makeshift club.
Maternal instinct cast out fear
And she strode right at the bear.
One thing to Lil was perfectly clear:
Her child need not despair.
Whatever it took, whatever the price,
She would not be defeated.
She would not suffer great loss twice—
Foul death must now be cheated.
The bear looked up and shook its head
With a look of great confusion.
This human should be filled with dread,
Not forcing an intrusion.
Mother bear reared up with a dreadful roar,
Advancing inch by inch.
She bared her fangs, designed for gore,
And readied for the clinch.
But Leelanau Lil stood her ground
And waved her club above her.
She matched the bear sound for sound,
Mother facing mother.
They glared into each other’s eyes,
And a thought occurred to Lil:
Each one had heard a baby’s cries
And had been prepared to kill.
A bond was there, a common cause,
That need not end in bloodshed.
And so it was, after thoughtful pause,
Lil dropped her club and said:
“You take your babe and I’ll take mine,
And we’ll go our separate ways.
Motherhood is a spark divine
That love, not hate, should raise.”
The bear gazed down at this woman brave
And seemed to understand.
It raised its paw and with a wave
Gave its cub a quick command.
The cub stood up and looked at her
With a curious expression.
It twitched its ears and licked its fur,
Then joined her in procession.
They disappeared in stately grace
Among the sheltering spruce.
Two mothers had come face to face
And reached a peaceful truce.
Lil held out her sheltering arms
To summon her dear Ned.
Freed from fear and nature’s harms,
She kissed him on the head.
The years ahead would still be rough,
But nothing life or death.
Lil remained both soft and tough
Until her final breath.
∞
Many a day in the land by the bay,
The winds blow bleak and chill.
Snow and sleet make night of day
And test your strength of will.
A deep-down cold invades your bones
And makes you dream of sun.
But there will be no sun-washed stones
Until the winter’s done.
But it isn’t just the cold, you see,
That threatens your existence.
Cougar, bear, and coyote
All stalk in grim persistence.
Only the strong survive here long
In this northern Michigan clime.
The weak of heart do not belong;
They fail the test of time.
No comments:
Post a Comment