A Bill Reyer Drum Lake Poem

How much we need serenity at this moment

Bill spends summers writing and reading in northern Michigan in a cabin on Drum Lake. Temporary withdrawal from our excessive, perhaps even obsessive, attempts to participate in ongoing struggles is not a retreat. Nothing is more precious and needed at this moment than serenity.

Reverend Summit:

A Memory Poem

The mild gray

Of this blessed day

May obscure Fuji-san. . .

But the sacred mountain

Rises perfect and serene

In my heart. . .

Calm, snow-capped,

And cloud-cloaked

Fuji’s presence purifies

The most agitated

Of souls. . .

Reverend Summit,

Enrich me

With your august peace. . .

Teach me to be

A hidden soul,

A mountain hermit

Among the bamboo

And pines

At your foot!

Bill Reyer

July 20, 2021

Drum Lake, Michigan