I ASKED

“I asked the fresh air

If it would stay here for you

I thought you might need

A place where you can breath

I asked the sun

If it would keep shining

I thought you might like

Some light to guide you

I asked the water in the harbor

If it would mind sitting pretty

I thought it might help

Keep you calm

I asked the trees in the forest

If they would stay standing tall and strong

I thought maybe sometimes you might wish you had

Shelter from the storm

I asked the rocks to hold you steady

Because I know that life will shake you

And I asked the lake to keep rolling onto shore

To greet your dreams and wash your worries away

I asked the wind

If it would kindly carry your prayers up to the sky

I thought you might enjoy a faithful passenger

I asked the beauty it would stay together for you

Because I thought you are always going to need

A place where you can breathe.”

This poem was created by Christina Brandmaster in Commemoration of the Preservation of Hunters Point in Copper Harbor Michigan, a most pristine place.

About the Art: These photos were taken on a recent trip into the Upper peninsula of Michigan. The month of September is my favorite time to travel there.The weather couldn't have been more perfect, the wind, sky and sun all conspired to give my partner Bruce and I a week of perfect conditions. The beauty and quiet of these remote faraway places gently brings me back to deeper relaxation and peace. I remember then that no matter how things look and seem to be in chaos in the world all is in Order in Nature...

Sometimes I ask myself why I don't live there. The beauty is so wild and clean, it's very far away-ness is its Guardian. Often there is “No Service” in some of the more remote locations, how refreshing to have no interference even for a little while from “TechKnowledgy”

There are trees still standing that are 500 years old. Uncut. That fall when they decide it's time.

There is a Lake so Superior and vast with waters so icy cold, so clear and clean you can cup your hands and drink it.

There is air so fresh and pure that all you can do is breathe it in and feel opened up to clarity.

There are vistas that don't won’t end..rolling valleys and steep mountains with rocky jagged ledges that line endless dirt roads that lead into more mysterious roads. Forests of trees that go for miles and miles and miles,there is nothing but nature. Creatures are there seeing but remaining unseen. There is space to just Be itself. Natural and Free.

Rocks and stones are the ground of the ancient past before the Great Lakes were, and when the waters were the Ocean.

Finally the Light.. I swear it is the most beautiful soft Goldeness I have seen anywhere, unwordable in its glowing...

One's Soul will never be the same after these Encounters with The Beauty….

Thankfully