Beautiful Blue Maxinkuckee  

Near rhe banks of Maxinkuckee
Grow the tamarack and oak,
Casting shadows in the water,
Beauty that one can't provoke.
Beauty that is made by nature,
Deep blue waters, banked with sane,
Beauty only God can render,
But so often dreamed by man.

Here the wild ducks swim the surface,
Near the banks the minnows play,
Swallows here fly o'er the water,
Dip, then swiftly fly away;
Here, the pipers hop the sand bars,
Sparrows, robins, many more,
Searching for the worms and insects,
That the waves have washed ashore.

All along the quiets shore side,
Comes the chirping of the crickets,
Comes the croaking of the b ullfrogs,
That are hidden in the thickets;
Comes the sighing of the willows,
As they're swaying in the breeze,
Comes the music of the song birds,
From the towering maple trees.
Comes the screeching notes of the marsh wrens,
From the rushes in the water,
Comes the splashing of the mush rats,
And the bathing of the Otter;
Comes the hammering of woodpeckers,
From the hollow of the trees,
Comes the singing of the orioles,
And the buzzing of the bees.

It is here, man sits to marvel,
O'er the work that nature's done,
Sees the shells and pebbles glist'ning,
Like clear diamonds in the sun;
Sees the waters calm when happy.
Sees it tough and rough when sore.
Hears the waves, the sound like thunder,
When they beat upon the shore.
Here he seems to see two heavens,
In the lake, and in the sky.
Here he sees some mortals bathing.
Others on the beach to day;
Sees the people come from fishing.
Hears the things they have to say,
Hears them tell of the big one,
That they caught and got away.
It is here on Maxinkuckee
Where sailboats gracefully glide,
Canoes paddled out by lovers,
Drifted then about by tide.
So why should one seek beauty?
To find greater would be hard,
Why should we hunt beauty
When it's here in our backyard?

In all Northweat it is peerless,
A picture I can't tear apart,
Though I may leave Maxinkuckee,
It shall remain always in my heart;
A memory to cherish a liftime,
A treasue I'll never forsake,
I thank my God, the All Mighty,
Fot this beautiful lake.

Vernon E. Bass