Lake Ontario Poem by Tor Magnor Solvang

Giant ice, a sculptor grand,
Carved this basin, shaped the land.
Twenty thousand years it took,
Nature's powerful, ancient book.

Iroquois or Wyandot's tongue,
'Shining waters, ' sweet song sung.
Homeland vast for Haudenosaunee,
Huron lands, a history.

Champlain came, a searching eye,
Brûlé followed, drawing nigh.
Frenchmen built their forts so strong,
Frontenac stood, where it belonged.

Then the British took their hold,
Stories in the winds unfold.
Niagara's roar, a mighty wall,
Until the canal answered freedom's call.

Steamships plied, the trade took flight,
Atlantic's door, shining bright.
From river's flow, a busy scene,
Commerce grew, a vibrant dream.

Now new winds blow, a curious sound,
'Lake America, ' on foreign ground.
But ancient names, they still remain,
For shining waters, free of pain.