Crawford Lake, Milton, Ontario
by Grace@ Everyday Amazing
Not a breath of wind nor cawing of black birds can rustle the lake's deep deep sleep. It cradles time on its belly, pregnant of memories of the first people and creatures who once lived beside it. By the lake's end, a garbled cedar tree watches over the lake, marbled in blue mystery. It is estimated that the lake is 10,000 years in the making and the remnant of the last ice age.
Summer breeze
is a gentle tap on my shoulder-
I stir not, nor lift
my giant hands from bed
filled with bones of my lost children
Posted for Imaginary Garden for Real Toads - Poetry Time, Hosted by Karin
& Poets United - We visited this lake yesterday and toured some conservation parks as weather was summer perfect.
Notes: A 1971 study revealed Crawford Lake to be meromictic – because the lake’s basin is deeper than it’s surface area, the lowest levels of water are very rarely, if ever, disturbed by wind or temperature changes. Without an annual turnover of water, there is little oxygen present in its depths and minimal bacterial breakdown, which preserves the layers of sediment that have built up over time. This build up provides an accurate record of the human and natural history of the lake and its surroundings. Studies of this sediment revealed the agricultural history of the Iroquoian people, and the presence of a pre-contact village.
That is pretty cool actually. It is quite fascinating to find these places where history can be read because it lays undisturbed. Interesting personification as well in the tanka. Happy Sunday to you Grace.
ReplyDeleteHistory, memory, truth... in an earth-bawl, how wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI particularly love the tone and voice--old, wise, patient... so very knowing.
The lake probably has seen quite a bit, if only it could tell the tales
ReplyDeleteHow very interesting! Your poem is a beautiful salute to the elements that time preserves.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the reflections in both the photograph and the poem. What a beautiful place to have visited!
ReplyDeleteReally interesting and thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the backstory is so interesting. Living in a country where the traces of the last ice-age is always present I have never thought of those sediments that rests undisturbed, secondly I admire how you shift the focus, personalizing the lake in that concluding tanka..
ReplyDeleteA really pretty trope going on here. I love the idea of the breeze tapping this deep lake on its shoulder. Thanks so much, Grace, for participating with this lovely poem. k.
ReplyDeleteTime unravels the past and sheds lights on historic events. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully executed :D
Lots of love,
Sanaa
such a beautiful piece of tranquility....
ReplyDeleteSuch an incredible story about such a lovely lake. Your title puts as deep a thought in my mind as well.
ReplyDeletevery tranquil piece
ReplyDeleteNature is filled with amusing things which human mind will never ever understand. In Himachal state of India ( a hilly state in the lap of Himalayas and to where I original belong as it is my native place) there is a lake ( Parashar lake) which is a mystery itself. Till date its depth cannot be measured and it has a little floating island on it.
ReplyDeletethis is a place I would enjoy..I am sure I would feel the depth of the cooling waters and feel the spirits that float about.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prashar_Lake
ReplyDeleteThanks Vandana for link and thoughtful comments ~
DeleteYou have captured the essence of time's passage here beautifully, Grace--how what is permanent absorbs time itself, and remains always merely ruffled and adjusted minutely by the temporary, and our own place in it, to appreciate and not destroy, though perhaps, over millennia, even that doesn't matter, as only the eloquent bones of our struggle will be left.
ReplyDeleteexcellent in form and telling; a really fantastic tanka, a wonderful read
ReplyDeletehave a nice Sunday Grace
much love...
amazing.. when you ponder how much the nature around is actually old or what life it lived through...
ReplyDeleteBrilliant use of imagery in a short, succinct work. Loved it. Also, I did not know about this lake before. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteNicely done!
ReplyDeleteYour poem is beautiful. I loved the history as well.
ReplyDelete"marbled in blue mystery" is a glorious, and apt, description of the history of this beautiful lake!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful write Grace--and thank you for sharing a bit of the history here--it makes me appreciate the deep sense of nature here
ReplyDeleteLove this, Grace. It truely is written from the view of, "every day amazing."
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful and very interesting post, Grace. I especially love the idea of the tree holding her hands still so as not to disturb the bones of her lost children. Wow!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more Grace...what a beautiful read with rich imagery and fabulous form especially the end....and it was so much richer given the history...a pre-contact village is amazing in and of itself! A very special lake....the Iroquois still revere the lakes where they settled and they do so here nearby.
ReplyDeleteAmazing! But what nice and beauty Title too!! Love it and is true:)
ReplyDeletexo
the lake and the tree are living witnesses of time. wish they can tell us the stories of the past - or they are showing it to us already but we are just missing it
ReplyDeleteTime, truth swallowed by a lake. What a beautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful. A very deep and lovely read. :)
ReplyDeleteWe can only guess at what such a lake has witnessed. Beautifully told.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post: pic, prose and poem. Very edifying, as well ... much enjoyed!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem, Grace. I enjoyed learning about the lake.
ReplyDeleteAnother guardian of times gone by, may she rest til the end of days.
ReplyDeleteAstonishing!
ReplyDeleteZQ
Great poem the image is striking.
ReplyDeleteThe hair on my arms are standing...this piece is timeless and powerful...I love the personification in the closing haiku for this haibun...brilliant work, Grace and thank you, for the added and interesting notes.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, beautiful. spot on imagery. I read it all outloud to my husband, and he loved it, too. the last line in the poem is haunting.
ReplyDeleteJane