Last updated: March 16, 2023
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Isle Royale Reflections from the Upper Peninsula Poet Laureate
![lt= Pine trees reflect off a deep blue lake.](/isro/images/ISRO_Brown-Paul_Inland-Lake_reflection.jpg?maxwidth=650&autorotate=false)
Paul Brown
I’ve retreated to Isle Royale many times to explore by backpack and canoe—adventure has never failed to ensue. On various trips, I’ve walked through a fresh moose kill near Lake Ritchie, paddled into terrifying white caps crossing Herring Bay, lost a staring match to a bull moose along the Minong, and donated more blood to the island’s mosquitoes than I care to recount. I’ve overheard wolf songs, loon songs, and silences I cannot even begin to describe. It is a sacred place, Isle Royale, from which I have never returned unchanged in some significant way. Following is an original poem that emerged from my most recent sojourn. I hope you find something therein to carry along on your own journey to the Good Place.
—M. Bartley Seigel, U.P. Poet Laureate
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