Becoming

Poetry on the Leelanau Trail & Swim Club TOMORROW, July 9 @ 8am

Last month I had the honor of being included in a project hosted by the Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails. Through their Art on the TART initiative, they hosted Poetry on the Leelanau Trail featuring five different poems from five poets stenciled on the trail between Traverse City and Suttons Bay. It was a beautiful and unique way to bring poetry to the public, offering an opportunity for contemplation for those out for a bike ride or walk. You can read more about the project in the Glen Arbor Sun.

The project required each poet to produce a poem with tight guidelines in order to fit on the stencil. I chose to rework a poem I had shared with you all in February, entitled “Shifting Contours”. The poem needed to be much shorter and there were character limits to each line, which meant I had to be very intentional with my word choice, even more so than with a typical poem. It was a fun challenge, one that felt like a puzzle, like looking for just the right combination of words to click.

This puzzle was made even more interesting because I was finalizing it the day my daughter was born. The invitation to take part in the project came just a few days before I went into the hospital, and as I sat in triage waiting to get admitted, I was trying to figure out the final piece: the title. It ended up being a few days after her birth before I landed on the title, which is “Becoming.” The day the poems were installed on the trail, I brought my 2-month-old daughter along, which felt like a really lovely full-circle moment.

The poem is tender, one that reminds us of the quiet work that changes the world. The way wind and waves erode the earth overtime, water steadily carving new paths for itself in riverbanks, along lakeshores. It is also a poem that reminds us to keep going, keep working towards the change we hope for in ourselves, our communities, our world. Enjoy.

Becoming 
The wind's hand on dunes. 
Steady rush of waves rolling
ashore. Softness slowly
changing the landscape.

Swim Club
Swim Club is this Sunday at 8am in Empire! I have three more dates on the calendar for this year, but I may add more this month, so stay tuned. All are welcome, even if you don’t want to get in the water. Bring a coffee or a snack; we’ll visit on the beach for a bit before we plunge!

All swim club meetups will happen at the public beach in Empire, in the north lot by the lighthouse. Note that these dates are subject to change. I will update everyone through Instagram and email updates.

Sunday, July 9 at 8am
Wednesday, August 9 at 8pm
Sunday, September 3 at 8am

Support my Work
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Purchase my book “Lake Letters” today!
My self-published collection of poetry and essays is available in my online shop. The perfect companion to summer swims.

Thank you for reading! May you find ways to positively influence the world around you this month, remembering that every small action matters.

Cheers,
Mae