There’s a loon alert heed on Henneman Lake,
it’s a safety request, one more for the times,
posted left of the landing beside leafy brake.
 
The notice is bold, nailed to thick, wooden stake:
keep loons safe on the water, free near divide.
There’s a loon alert heed on Henneman Lake.

This warning, as others, is valid not fake.
In John-Deere-yellow, it’s a well-designed sign,
posted left of the landing beside leafy brake.

Loons float together, a gathering of mates,
we observe from afar, in awe as they glide.
There’s a loon alert heed on Henneman Lake.

We adhere to the tenets of our fair state,
honor the distance-and-well-being guidelines 
posted left of the landing beside leafy brake.

We bow to all life, its diverse forms and shapes,
praise Earth, nature, and the whole of mankind.
There’s a loon alert heed on Henneman Lake,
posted left of the landing beside leafy brake.

* Henneman Lake is located in Chippewa County, Wisconsin.

 Jeannie E. Roberts lives near Chippewa Falls. She has authored four poetry collections and two children’s books. Her fifth poetry collection, As If Labyrinth - Pandemic Inspired Poems, is forthcoming in May 2021 from Kelsay Books. She’s an animal lover, a nature enthusiast, and poetry reader/editor of the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs. When she’s not reading, writing, or editing, you can find her drawing and painting, or outdoors photographing her natural surroundings. For more by and about Jeannie see her author page at Volume One.