As the summer seems to be slipping away, I’m sharing poems of seagulls, beaches, and water for Poetry Friday. I finally spent a few hours at the lake this week intending on sketching, but visited with my friend more. A bit before I had to leave I quickly sketched this lovely Chicago seagull, and yes our water was a Mediterranean blue.
sand, seagull splash
mediterranean
chicago calm.
© 2017 Michelle Kogan
ODE TO LAKE MICHIGAN
Dear lady of deep-layered waters
stretching out for all colors, sizes, and points of view
welcoming us all season upon season
calling us like a siren in the summer
tempting us to eschew our daily demands
rewarding us with your Mediterranean demeanor
reminding us of your cool Midwestern shores
refresh our stubborn perspectives
rejuvenate our inner callings
renew our care for one another
take care precious lady of deep-layered waters
asking nothing in return but to return again
©2017 Michelle Kogan
A beach poem by Babette Deutsch, read the rest of her poem at the Poetry Foundation
THE FAR AWAY ISLAND
ON THE BEACH
How like a tireless lover the huge sea
Curves to the land, caresses it, retreats,
Slowly returns: as though the naked sand,
Moved by what that hushed husky voice repeats,
Would answer with salt lip. As though it silently
Must open to the touch of those unerring hands.
What flank is smoother than the hollow of
The curling comber? What wild feather is
Like the tossed plume those wild white wings unfurl
Before they fade in twinkling foam? this motion
Never wavers, but is never quiet.
This wandering will always find its home
Upon the shore’s wide lap, Still undefiled
Are these immensities. But they are grave:
The unresting sea, the shore that suffers it
To come and go and come again. Their look
Enjoy some of our lingering summer days by some water … Thanks to Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche for hosting Poetry Friday. Stop by her blog for the Poetry Friday Roundup, and a birthday celebration filled with more poems.
Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, & Writing 
Love your seagull with a personality and the trip back to summer, if only for a minute before I head back to school. That Mediterranean blue is my favorite color on this earth.
Thanks Margaret, I melt when our lake turns this color, it reminds me of far off places I’d like to visit again!
I love this seagull! And I am enamored of “dear lady of deep layered waters.” I am envisioning a woman in a blue ballgown (who happens to be a lake!). Thank you, Michelle. xo
Thanks Irene–this “blue ballgown” garbed lady would be a lovely image to capture!
You know how much I love the water, Michelle. I’m glad you had time at that wonderful lake. I’ve only seen it a few times, and maybe someday I’ll get to spend more time there. The Deutsch poem is wonderful, and I love yours, those “deep-layered waters”. Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks Linda, any body of water is wonderful to be by!
Does summer really have to slip away? 😦 Nonetheless I love these words and images. 🙂
The waters do seem to “refresh our stubborn perspectives”… Love that! Love your gull, too!
Thanks Donna!
Oh there’s so much to admire in your words and painting, Michelle! Your words soothe, like the laps of Mediterranean water.
Thanks Kiesha, the lake always inspires me!
I love to sit beside water wherever it is–river, beach, lake. We’ve had several family vacations to spots on Lake Michigan. Your seagull and poem invite me there even as I’m sitting at the table at home.
Thanks Kay, I’ve always lived by some body of water–it gives one a feeling of connectedness with nature.
I do love your seagull. Beach poems in summer always win with me (any time actually). I especially like your Ode to Lake Michigan and the way you’ve interwoven the physical sights and sounds with spiritual observations, like:
“refresh our stubborn perspectives
rejuvenate our inner callings
renew our care for one another”
Thanks Violet, I’ll credit the great body of water for my inspiration.
Being at the beach does “rejuvenate our inner callings.” Thank you for this lovely post, which is like
a trip to the beach, as well as the reminder to “renew our care for one another.”
Thanks Catherine–there’s something so calming about being near water.
I love your “mediterranean chicago” – such an unexpected juxtaposition. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Thanks Ruth, closest I’ll get to the Mediterranean for a while–and Lake Michigan is a lovely body of water.
Your seagull has a regal look. I love the shape of love in the poem by Babette Deutsch and your lady of deep-layered waters. Makes me want to grab the last few beach days and not let go.
Thanks Brenda, I need a few more beach days too!
ooooooh. Renew our care for one and other…..perfect. Love it! And, such a handsome seagull. When I was small and visited the beach with my parents we named every seagull, Heathcliffe. I fiind myself saying, Hello, Heathcliffe to this day to seagulls.
Okay Linda, this one will be Heathcliffe, thanks!
Oh, what a beautiful scene! I remember being shocked when I first saw one of the great lakes as a kid – I had never seen such a huge lake, it looked like the ocean to me!
Thanks Jane, it’s our mini ocean, though without the tide–and the tide is truly lovely and worth knowing.
“What wild feather is
Like the tossed plume those wild white wings unfurl
Before they fade in twinkling foam?” — masterful!
Your seagull is charming, and maybe it’s a Heathcliffe? (Linda’s comment made me laugh)
“Dear lady of deep-layered waters” is lovely.
Thanks Tabatha, yes perhaps a Heathcliffe …
I adore your seagull! So beautiful.
‘asking nothing in return but to return again’ #lovely
Thanks Kat!
Michelle, what a glorious combination of poems and a sketch to depict Summer.
Thanks Carol, nature is a wonderful inspiration!