Of Thrills In Leelanau

 

Empire Bluffs

"The thrill you feel 

on first seeing 

some delightful place ...

dies away 

when you really go 

to live there."  C.S. Lewis

Dear Mr. Lewis:  

I must, 

respectfully, 

disagree.

For nearly twenty-five years, 

I have walked the path 

from my door

to the foothills 

of this majestic dune.

I have climbed 

this mountain of sand 

countless times, 

always 

to reach the summit,

and there 

to gaze at this vast inland sea.

The thrill of this place, 

this Leelanau, 

this "Land of Delight," 

has not expired.

This feeling is more alive 

now 

than it was on my very first summit 

here, 

a quarter century ago.

Most thrills in life 

are fleeting, 

like my footprints 

in this sand, ....

Yet the thrill 

that is Leelanau 

seems 

to have no end.