July 26: A U.P. Poem, Jeff VandeZande, "Highways Up North"

I have a poem for you tonight from a U.P. writer.  Jeff VandeZande grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and, while he now lives and teaches below the Mackinac Bridge, Jeff's work is saturated with the cold waters of Lake Superior.

Saint Marty wishes he had written this poem, which comes from VandZande's collection Transient.

Highways Up North

Beyond the guard rails
tiny windows burn
like pilot lights:  ice shanties
huddled together on a lake.
Fishermen park on the frozen water,
twist their augers through the blackness.
During the long stretches,
they knock on each other's doors,
share coffee, chili, whiskey.
Now and again, their shouts echo
above the highway moan
as they lure shimmering life
from cold, dark holes.

A great writer from the U. P.