Hear the winners of MPR's Lake Superior poetry contest read their work
Lake Superior inspires every kind of feeling, thought and memory in those who visit its shores.
This attachment to Minnesota's slice of the great lake helped it beat out hundreds of other lakes in MPR's recent Most Loved Lake Contest.
As MPR and the Water Main celebrate Lake Superior's place in our state's culture, they held a poetry contest.
The three winners were Melissa Richards, David Olson and Lorene Sill. Click the player above to hear the poems, and read them below.
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And Still She Calls by Melissa Richards
Her waters are legendary, holding the unwary who spill
from their ships, unaware of her power. And yet this Superior lake,
when days are warm and sunsets, late, sends a powerful call.
Wise voices say, stay ashore; so we stop to breathe
wave freshened air and listen for hawk, and owl, and bee.
Her wisdom, drawn from sources unseen by this day's eye,
is clearly there in faint paths, rustling grass, white topped swells
as fearsome as when native men walked her shores and braved her waters.
Governments change but she does not.
Unafraid to be herself, her sad, beautiful history is known
by wild tales told around campfires to impressionable youths,
though many of her own ancient voices have been lost -
lost in the sound of wave and bird;
lost to the sounds of progress.
And still, she calls.
And still, we come.
Ashes by David Olson
The white finger waves
would not let us
get close to the water
So we sprinkled the
ashes on tumbled rocks
and didn't have to wait long
For searching stretching
hands of the unconscious
to come take you home
The Lake by Lorene Sill
glistening in the morning sun
remains quiet, taking time
I think unborn thoughts
Gulls
caught in the sun
scream their freedom
I am alive without bounds
Wilderness
exploring the unknown
arriving where I started
and knowing it for the first time
Evening comes
finishing the sun,
bringing
black,
mystery,
and peace
Thanks for all who entered. Keep an eye on these writers, The Loft Literary Center is giving them each a writing class to congratulate them on their poetry win.
MPR and the Water Main are hosting pop-up classical performances along the North Shore on Saturday.