Southeast Alaska
Tracy Arm among narrow fjords.
Towering cliffs of metamorphic rock,
marbled veins, ripped, split, tortured,
twisted granite. Walls of lichen, moss,
willow, alder. Tidewater glaciers, fresh
above salt flow from Stikine Icefield.
Calving fireworks ancient ice of cobalt blue.
Williams Cove finger of sea, houses slippery
cobbles and intercoastal rocks unaccustomed to
skimming across quiet waters. Alders, Licorice
Fern, Devil’s Club, Clasping Twisted Stalk
lay below Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock.
Three seasons of bear scat promise and tempt
encounters more personal than we are brave.
Thomas Bay haunted by miners driven
to madness by monkey men in dense forest.
Cascade Creek leads the way to waterfalls
adorned with Heart Shaped Twayblade Orchids.
Petersburg Creek to Kupreanof Island.
Magic of muskeg, sodden moss among dwarfed
dogwood. Carnivorous Sundews lord over bog.
We land in sheltered waters of Hanus Bay
and cross streams descending from Lake Eva.
Skirting shores over four legged starfish, through
Running Club Moss to salmon beds where pink
fish the size of your arm, swim upstream dodging
bear and raptor. Later our expedition cruises Chatham
Strait to Kelp Bay coast of Baranof Island.
Woken by the voice of God to view solar
winds of Aurora Borealis as the Big Dipper
stands guard. Point Adolphus houses
singing Humpbacks that breach and roll
barnacled back and slapping sculpted fluke.
Dall named them Inian Islands gateway to
Pacific where Steller sea lions roar over lair.
Dawn brought us up bay to the Great Land
discovered by Vancouver. Growling glaciers,
Lamplugh and Margerie of isolated spires
give way to the call of Kittiwakes and red-footed
Horned Puffin. Russell Cut accommodates
picnicking brown bear along the shore.
Bartlett Cove of Park and Preserve lull us to sleep.
Russian fur traders named Pavlof Harbor, sheltered
anchorage of Chichagof Island. Cannery to fish weir,
sockeye salmon swim inspired to spawn. We swipe
blueberries from long toed beast wishing to spy but
not too close. Alaska bushwackers over stream and
mire. Sea Lion sails on to Freshwater Bay
where pods of leviathans feed on filtered seawater.
Tracy Arm among narrow fjords.
Towering cliffs of metamorphic rock,
marbled veins, ripped, split, tortured,
twisted granite. Walls of lichen, moss,
willow, alder. Tidewater glaciers, fresh
above salt flow from Stikine Icefield.
Calving fireworks ancient ice of cobalt blue.
Williams Cove finger of sea, houses slippery
cobbles and intercoastal rocks unaccustomed to
skimming across quiet waters. Alders, Licorice
Fern, Devil’s Club, Clasping Twisted Stalk
lay below Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock.
Three seasons of bear scat promise and tempt
encounters more personal than we are brave.
Thomas Bay haunted by miners driven
to madness by monkey men in dense forest.
Cascade Creek leads the way to waterfalls
adorned with Heart Shaped Twayblade Orchids.
Petersburg Creek to Kupreanof Island.
Magic of muskeg, sodden moss among dwarfed
dogwood. Carnivorous Sundews lord over bog.
We land in sheltered waters of Hanus Bay
and cross streams descending from Lake Eva.
Skirting shores over four legged starfish, through
Running Club Moss to salmon beds where pink
fish the size of your arm, swim upstream dodging
bear and raptor. Later our expedition cruises Chatham
Strait to Kelp Bay coast of Baranof Island.
Woken by the voice of God to view solar
winds of Aurora Borealis as the Big Dipper
stands guard. Point Adolphus houses
singing Humpbacks that breach and roll
barnacled back and slapping sculpted fluke.
Dall named them Inian Islands gateway to
Pacific where Steller sea lions roar over lair.
Dawn brought us up bay to the Great Land
discovered by Vancouver. Growling glaciers,
Lamplugh and Margerie of isolated spires
give way to the call of Kittiwakes and red-footed
Horned Puffin. Russell Cut accommodates
picnicking brown bear along the shore.
Bartlett Cove of Park and Preserve lull us to sleep.
Russian fur traders named Pavlof Harbor, sheltered
anchorage of Chichagof Island. Cannery to fish weir,
sockeye salmon swim inspired to spawn. We swipe
blueberries from long toed beast wishing to spy but
not too close. Alaska bushwackers over stream and
mire. Sea Lion sails on to Freshwater Bay
where pods of leviathans feed on filtered seawater.
