Whihala Beach

Beloved behemoth lake, tranquil today
Along the coast of Whiting, Indiana,
Between the refinery and the big casino,
Working class beach that takes me back to childhood.

Towers of steel loom distant, obscured by smog.
Muscular city, engine of employment.
Nobody moves to Chicago for the climate.
But when a gorgeous day arrives in town
We drink it down, devouring all its goodness.

My wife is in the water, like a porpoise
Gliding and diving in her element,
Retrieving a football that some boys had thrown
Beyond their own ability to swim.

And I stand watching, stringing out these words
Attempting to record in one brief sketch
This ordinary love of life on earth.