56 Footsteps

[mikecaalaska]

Snow, cold and soft as I walk,
Falling last night and into the early morning,
Shuffle my feet as I walk along,
Kicking up flakes fallen,
Packing them below my feet,
Path narrow with drifting snow,
Walked this path many times,
Well before the early morning light,
Every day and night.

The door opens outward,
Metal with hinges that creak,
Looking up before stepping inside,
A billion stars light up the night and early morning,
My light still shines bright,
Fifty-six steps on a circular staircase,
Cold metal below my feet,
My hand gripping the cold rail,
The top is near.

Open the upper hatch with my gloves off,
Push upward - hands chilled,
Light now shines,
Your wick properly trimmed,
Fresnel lens,
Still shining in the night and early morning,
Time to extinguish you for a few hours,
Close the hatch and now time to ascend,
Fifty - six steps below me as I walk down,
The bottom is near.

Hands now cold and gloves pulled back on,
Soon the day begins,
Light extinguished,
The waters off the light are starting to freeze,
Soon winter will close these shipping routes,
You have stood tall and pride since the 1880’s,
Today I walked the stair’s as my father did 7.5 decades ago,
Still intact and standing through the decades,
Your signal now extinguished,
Yet you still stand here, a time on my mind,
I have reached the top and bottom with my father’s footsteps.

[Kornelia]

A great piece in which the reader takes each step of this amazing trip...
Somehow going into nature can trigger memories often as they can unlock hidden keys
to past phases in life,much enjoyed this walk (to memory lane)

kornelia

[CarolynKleefeld]

Powerful imagery, and a wonderfully described story, most skillfully expressed.

[mikecaalaska]

Thank you kornelia and Carolyn. I spent part of this last summer wandering around light houses on Lake Michigan and Superior. My dad was with the Coast Guard at the end of WWII in Sturgeon Bay, WI - still an active base - got permission to enter, escorted, and walked the light house and other grounds he had enjoyed a the end of the war.

Mike

[riversidepoet]

thank you for a beautiful poem, what's not to like about a lighthouse, one of my favorite gospel songs is called the Lighthouse, thanks again really enjoyed your beautiful poem

[karrie]

There is such wonderful imagery in this and I was captivated from the beginning to the end. Congrats on the well deserved spotlight!

[ramfire]

A lighthouse keeper's duty. Day in day out but for the light house, how many lives would have been lost? A good poem.

[LorettaYoung]

The lighthouse was a powerful image to recall; the beacon light searching night; and your steps tell the journey. Congratulations on the spotlight. Loretta

[mikecaalaska]

Thank you all - a piece that I enjoyed writing - tis past summer my travels of the Great Lakes light houses as well as the older US life savings stations has been one of my best travels in a long while - again, thanks.

Mike

[Chelle]

Loved it as well myself. I couldn't help but think of a few lighthouses I've been around. As a sailor, they can mean life and death and certain situations especially back before we had radar and other instruments. Well deserved spotlight.

[rupertpupkin]

Lovely stuff and a most deserving spotlight. Well done!

[inflames]

I like the story that this tells. What beautiful imagery. This is lovely. Congrats on your spotlight!