Shipwreck on Lake Superior
Like severed raven wings, two chunks
of the Edmund Fitzgerald drift
to the lake’s bottom. Ripped in half
by a violent storm, all 29 sailors
drowned, never to be seen again.
Bow upright, stern upside-down.
Mom left Dad that year. Brutal –
it was Democrat vs. Republican.
Boxed wine (Franzia Sunset Blush)
vs Jack Daniel’s on the rocks.
Fully loaded with iron ore bound
for Cleveland, the vessel was lost
17 miles from Whitefish Point.
Nixon had recently resigned,
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”
won best picture. My boyfriend
& I had our first physical fight
on the shores of Lake Superior
as waves lapped furiously
with the force life & death.
20 thoughts on "Shipwreck on Lake Superior "
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Stunning: “Like severed raven wings, two chunks/of the Edmund Fitzgerald drift/to the lake’s bottom.
Loved how you twined personal tragedy with larger tragedy:
“Mom left Dad that year. Brutal –/it was Democrat vs. Republican.” and later with first physical fight.
“First” is chilling.
Time period set well with Nixon and Best picture movie.
Lots in this poem. Well done!
Now listening to Gordon Lightfoot singing Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
I love that song! I started writing the poem because of it, then remembered relevant things. Thanks, Pam.
Me, too! Great write!
Love the history of this and yeah that song. And yeah those times.
And of course the Linda twining in full play. Wonderful. And craft.
There’s a typo in the last line. I should read “with the force of life & death.” Sheesh.
The violence of this one is palpable.
Adore the braided, personal moments amid the macro-moments. They slip up and are still startling, and the way this closes is exquisitely painful
So many shipwrecks in such a short poem, the EF, the ship of state, the relationship. Love how you’ve tied them all together.
This poem also navigates space and time so deftly to create a collage of tumult and its striking
Love how you tie a historical tragedy to a personal one, actually more than one. The tale of this poem is in your salient details — Franzia Sunset Blush vs Jack Daniel’s, Republican vs Democrat. Great read, Linda.
The rawness of “severed raven wings” (also hearing “ripped”) and the suddenness of the EF going down, organized next to the Nixon/movie references (meaning-ish but more mundane), then brought to the personal fight with the same waves that saw sailors ripped from life—dang!
Oh, Linda. That ending. Wow! This poem weaves historical and personal elements so well. What a great write!
Agree with Pam how you deftly thread history and personal so well. Great poem!
This is great, Linda. I love the historical facts that take us back to a different time, though one we can relate to. Also how you tie it all together with Lake Superior.
Kudos for taking us down Gordon Lightfoot and memory lane. Masterful quilting of all the histories involved. For some reason, this line just kills me!! – Boxed wine (Franzia Sunset Blush)
Love the juxtaposition of the shipwreck, the breakup of your parents’ marriage, your fight with a boyfriend, and other specific details of that time. So well done.
Classic Linda, braiding the historical with the personal to smashing effect. Bravo, as always.
Excellent! And this poem really “hits home.” This happened when my father was Director of PR for the Lake Carriers Assn and a retired USCG career officer. This was avoidable. Not simply ship maintenance, but a ship should not have been out on Superior that late in the season. That ship was out there due to corporate greed.
and yes, I love poetry rooted in historic events.
Your final stanza pulls this together, uses a push pin to stick it on a specific year. Thank you so much.
I research for the poem even though much it didn’t end up in the poem. I’m fascinated by all it. I might even write another poem that features the crew. Thank you!
Wonderful history woven so beautifully together. Great last line: “with the force of life & death.”