Winter Whales of Lake Superior

By Lenore Lotecki

Big Lake Colossi, digital illustration, boy Roland

The ancient guardians of the big lake

Sometimes seen

More often heard

In winter, they show themselves

Collecting in bays and sunning their bellies

Pushing around small sheets of ice 

They sing their songs of love for the big lake

And moan their dirges for its sickness 

Late winter 

Preparations begin

Nest building and gathering supplies

For a new family

Females watch males gracefully dance

Performing carefully executed moves

to woo the potential mother of their child

They finish their dance by lifting and

Smashing huge blocks of ice

Against small islands and shorelines

The offering of bouquets of ice blue blooms

In spring, they dive down

Lower than the ships that run overhead

Waiting in the cold deep for the lake 

To develop its icy skin again