There’s a line that the wilderness
draws behind each of us
a little distance from Ely.
Whether by stream, river or lake
as our canoes slip
over it,
pulled by paddle stroke
and the desire to find more than
our own reflection in the
Boundary Waters.
This line when crossed can
never be returned from,
can’t be uncrossed.
Though it is invisible, almost everyone
I know can recall the moment
they entered the other side.
The side where our previous selves
began to fade and our
canoe camping self began to pulsate,
like the oldest coals of our
campfires.
The afternoon sun burnt off the rest of the shadows
as we paddled on,
not stopping until we blended into
the darkness and the branches
of the pines and cedars
reached out over the water
to welcome us home.
©Timothy James Stouffer 06052017
All Rights Reserved Ely, Minnesota
If you like the poetry we publish here and on social media you might like to check out a recent Zine created by Simon and Tim Stouffer who work at Piragis Northwoods Company. Pronounced "ZEEENE" like Maga-zine, a zine is a self published, small run of artwork and/or prose. This particular zine was actually printed locally at Ely Design Works on high quality paper to showcase the 20 black and white photos taken by Simon. Accompanying the photos are original poems by Tim Stouffer. The content was inspired by their day together along the North Shore early this Spring.
Here's a link: https://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/tim-stouffer/day-one-a-zine-by-tim-and-simon-stouffer-159648
never be returned from,
can’t be uncrossed.
Though it is invisible, almost everyone
I know can recall the moment
they entered the other side.
The side where our previous selves
began to fade and our
canoe camping self began to pulsate,
like the oldest coals of our
campfires.
The afternoon sun burnt off the rest of the shadows
as we paddled on,
not stopping until we blended into
the darkness and the branches
of the pines and cedars
reached out over the water
to welcome us home.
©Timothy James Stouffer 06052017
All Rights Reserved Ely, Minnesota
If you like the poetry we publish here and on social media you might like to check out a recent Zine created by Simon and Tim Stouffer who work at Piragis Northwoods Company. Pronounced "ZEEENE" like Maga-zine, a zine is a self published, small run of artwork and/or prose. This particular zine was actually printed locally at Ely Design Works on high quality paper to showcase the 20 black and white photos taken by Simon. Accompanying the photos are original poems by Tim Stouffer. The content was inspired by their day together along the North Shore early this Spring.
Here's a link: https://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/tim-stouffer/day-one-a-zine-by-tim-and-simon-stouffer-159648
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