Pure Michigan: Waterworld

Welcome to Waterworld!

Water. Water everywhere! While many things have been occupying the eyes of the nation this week (and rightly so–many tugs of the heartstrings have gone to many corners of the U.S. these past few days), but locally, nature has been at the forefront of things.

Michigan, my home, is a land of water. It surrounds us. It pierces into the very heart of our state in its many rivers, lakes, and ponds. This is, truly, the Great Lakes State. Yet this week the state has been rocked by record rainfall. The end result: flooding. Massive flooding. And when I say record-breaking, don’t mistake me: the Grand River, in western Michigan, was predicted to hit a 24.76 foot crest today. Compare that to previous floodings here, as listed from the Grand Rapids Press…

24.76 feet on April 21, 2013**
19.64 feet on March 1, 1985
19.54 feet on May 27, 2004
19.50 feet on March 28, 1904
19.29 feet on March 8, 1976
19.25 feet on April 3, 1960
19.25 feet on September. 4, 1986
18.83 feet on March 3, 1982
18.60 feet on June 9, 1905
18.5 feet on April 18, 2013
17.87 feet on February 25, 1997
17.84 feet on December 31, 2008

Flooding is not new here, but bloody hell, this one takes the cake. Large swaths of the city of Grand Rapids and western Michigan are going underwater. To prove that point, I took a little photographic adventure. Here are just a few things to show you what we’re dealing with up here. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Barreling through.

No walkway for you.

At least the cops get to bust out their boats!

Waiting. Watching. Wondering.

Under the Sea.

 

Kayak business? Probably booming.

It was such a pretty house, too.

Beach? What beach?

And the real kicker? More rain is expected to come…

Related articles

• Flooding photos from air: See historic Grand River waters from above (mlive.com)
• Grand River hits 21.65 feet early Sunday in Grand Rapids, and still rising (mlive.com)
• Impact of rising Grand River seen in Michigan State Police aerial photos (mlive.com)
• Wet West Michigan: maps of flooding, April 2013 (vielmetti.typepad.com)
• Four Spots Along The Grand To Reach Record Flood Stage (fox17online.com)

Down, Down

born of flesh

borne by earth

choked divinity caught at the thresh

lay numb beside the kindled hearth—

fall down, fall down,

let vaulted rain yet drown—

the wriggling flames

of dancing dreams

cannot survive the niggling games

blacktop shadows wove within the seams—

lie down, lie down,

buried by the wetted crown.

Empty Drink

The lake is empty.

Roots have left this shore.

Freedom to be free,

containment shattered by the waves of yore–

all of It will cease to be

before they see that less is rarely more.

Empty Lake Bed, (from iDesign iPhone Wallpapers)

In Nature

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” ~ Native American Proverb

Nothing clears the mind quite like a weekend in the mountains. A (surprisingly) stifling heater in the cabin didn’t hurt of course, but it just made the impact of walking out those doors and into the sunny, snow-struck earth all the more striking. Now it’s back to the real world. At least I face it refreshed.

Mountain Haiku

Dancing clouds

ring mountain song—

life, reaching.

Sitting

Sitting on his stool

the old man strains notes

convoluted and convalescent

in the grey-grey dawn,

the pitter-pattering pour of

earthly power, reverberating

like the subway’s urbane roar.

 

Blinded in years,

He is the maestro resurrect

On the days when the long rain fell.

A dream of air currents

Pellucid peyote visions

strike evanescent evocations of eagles

caught in flight, failing

on the wild winds–

it hisses as their haggard drop

and rushes up to greet them.

Summer Haiku

Sun-struck

shade by shade world

hides life.

Summer Haiku

Summer drips

feathers swim circles

through wavy skies.

By the Sea

At the Beach

It’s been a while, and a long weekend to boot. In sum: got some sun, traipsed some beaches, wondered and waxed philosophic and photographic somewhere between the trees and the waves, and tasted of the delicious sensation known as BBQ. It was a long weekend, but a good one, and I can honestly say it was the most relaxing I’ve had a good long while, even if I was still running all over the place.

I get the wanderlust, you know?

Big Red

C’est la vie, though, as they say. To those Americans among my readership, here’s hoping the fourth of July (the USA’s Independence Day, for those of you not up-to-the-know on your history of the land of the stars and stripes) was a delightful blend of summer warmth and rapturous relaxation with those you hold most dear. Plus, if you got to see some of the shiny explosions that were lighting up the country’s night sky, all the more power to you.

What’s the night without a little boom? Whether it’s a spiritual or a physical or even a metaphorical boom, well, that’s really up to your preference. I’m just the humble fellow wishing you a good time, regardless.

But I digress…and supposing you One Stoppers have sifted through my silliness and well-wishes, I’d like to kick off my return and the week with my latest submission to One Stop Poetry’s One Shot Wednesday, a tanka titled: “By the Sea“…

Sunlight on white sand

Refracted in pillowed veils

Hiding sand castles

Bronzed amidst unyielding tides

Sprouted in short-short visions.