Ever since the first sparks of civilization rose from the campfires of primitive man, humanity has endeavored to find divinity and holiness in the natural world, in the stars, the rains, the wind, the tangible endurance of stone and earth. Poet Susan Coultrap-McQuin shows us nature’s sacredness with her poem “Sunday Morning at the Cabin Up North”. With her gentle early morning imagery of loons on a lake and a breeze whispering through pines, Susan’s lines call to mind the late Mary Oliver. She illuminates the quietude with the unspoken effortless prayers settled around us like blessings.
Sunday Morning at the Cabin Up North
A single loon circles slowly,
———-gliding in his black-and-white suit
——————–across the still gray waters.
Its mate angles in from the sky,
———-splashes down, then lifts,
——————–shaking its wings in salute.
Far away, a fishing boat
———-trolls toward the rising sun.
——————–The loon calls across the lake.
Closer by, a hummingbird
———-darts to the half-filled feeder,
——————–its wings swish and strum the air.
In harmony with the loon,
———-the pines rustle to sing
——————–peace be onto you today.
Susan Coultrap-McQuin
Susan Coultrap-McQuin is a retired educator, avid gardener, and frequent traveler. Recent poems have appeared in journals including Lowestoft Chronicle, Still Point Arts Quarterly, The Poeming Pigeon and Shift and in anthologies such as Plant People, Quiet Diamonds, Woodlands, and Made of Rust and Glass. Her chapbook of travel poems, What We Bring Home (The Poetry Box), was released in October 2021. She has earned several awards, including a Pushcart nomination, a finalist in the Orchard Street Poetry Contest, and an Honorable Mention from Wick Poetry Center. She can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
After reading this twice a strange and welcomed calm encircled me.