GLEN ARBOR
Ode to a Lighthouse (after Anne Carson)

Taylor Cornett

GLEN ARBOR
Ode to a Lighthouse   (after Anne Carson)
Taylor Cornett
 
Every June we drive from Indiana to Glen Arbor, Michigan my father mother sisters brother extended family and I.
 
ode to a lighthouse
 
Stay at a resort Petoskey stones on nightstands on counters on tables months after we are home. 
 
ode to a lighthouse full of longing
 
Stillness of the lake as static as our kinship or the memories we make here.
 
ode to a lighthouse full of longing
let go 
 
Sitting together in a long pew at a church that overlooks the lake we prayed--
 
ode to a lighthouse  full of longing
let go
   or I’ll sever this rope
 
the Holy Spirit graces us with shivers sent up and down our spines. We see the natives glance at our unfamiliar faces.
 
ode to a lighthouse full of longing
let go
  or I’ll sever the chains,
the rope, all objects of connectivity
       let go
 
Erosion sets in. Wet sand stuck in the crevices. I like the word obilesque because it is reflective of my current state.
 
ode to a lighthouse full of longing
 
We have good times. Memories. Love! Love for one another. We are homeward bound. Check the mailbox.
 
with anguish, I will sever
this tie
 
(envelopes bundled up with a rubber-band). Open the trunk. Grab our bags. Neighbor boys run over for their usual homecoming.
 
the lighthouse has vanished, has vanished, has vanished
it beckons us over the horizon
 
We stumble. Into the entryway. In a stand still--
 
 
it beckons until next time
 
 
                                                     let go or I
                                    let go or I
                          let go or I
 
 
“What’s for dinner?” asks my little sister.