Oxbow poetry
Too sharp was my bend Too sharp a turn for a port Too sharp for big boats They made a new bend. They filled me in like a marsh They left me (the fish) With every fish gone and Fishermen following a deserted town I found myself left as empty as the old bend Hotel Left Behind Deserted for fish I became a ghost town so close to closing I, sitting dormant waited for ever for them to discover me Appreciating me They came in 1920 paint brushes in hand Colonizing bees They spread, made a school of me I began again |
I woke up early every morning when the weather was nice, that was when the fishing was the best on Lake Michigan But when I heard of the plan for the new bend, so that the big boats would be able to make the turn, I knew I had to leave before I was trapped in a marsh That winter the ice was thick so we dragged our house with us on it We slid our house as if on ice skates Our house was a wood box, easy to move My family and I moved to where the fishing was good, and the lake was easily reachable Apparently the other families thought the same thing because they left the bend with their houses Leaving it to turn brown with with silt and seaweed In fact the only house that I knew of that stayed was the hotel Later when I returned The hotel was practically empty, except for a couple of artists from Chicago, but they probably only stayed for a summer or two Oxbow today is such a lovely, lively place
Plus they have a lot of nature space The camp focuses on different forms of art You can escape the city there and just restart The trees lazily dance in the breeze the warm air buzzing with bees Oxbow is the perfect getaway for the creative mind There are so many trails you will not feel confined You could paint from the spectacular view from the top of a dune or on the water when it’s sizzling hot in June While at Oxbow you'll have the perfect stay Oh what a wonderful getaway The area is like a secluded bubble Your art skills will nearly double It’s the jewel of our town, Hopefully you'll come around |