Relentless Rainfall

This has been a very wet year up north. No disastrous floods or destructive downpours but rain steady enough to raise water levels all year 'round.  Even come fall, a season with usually dry weather.

Lake Superior, 20 miles north of our cabin, sits at an all time high. And our small lake seems to be following in its big brother's footsteps.



Relentless Rainfall


Late October and all should be dusty
with brittle foliage, not soggy
with spongy leaves, matting the forest floor.

Surrounding wetlands produce de novo
ponds between cabin and brimming lake,
waves the color and feel of winter steel.

Ankle-deep water traps a low-lying shed,
requiring boots and backwoods ingenuity
to shift it, lift it away

from impending icy handcuffs, certain
to blackmail the structure, hold ransom
its rusty rakes and shovels, the well used grill.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor