THAT PLACE I CALLED HOME

it’s been a long flight and my head’s in the clouds
when the captain comes on and says "folks look around
we’re about to fly over the Great Lakes now
just look to your left at the blue dots below"
and i wanted to stand up and yell
that’s the place i called home, that place i called home

as everyone rushes to one side of the plane
i just close my eyes and i’m a little girl again
my father is standing tall at the helm
piloting his ferry to Turtle Island
where the horse-drawn carriages and tourists abound
and the air smells of fudge and sweet caramel corn
and you race to eat your ice cream
before it drips down your arm
that place i called home

at thirty thousand feet the Great Lakes are felt
they’re still in my dreams and they’re still in my head
i can smell them or feel them whenever i want
these powerful memories live on in my heart
that place i called home

my reverie is broken and i open my eyes
for the captain once more is being our tourist guide
he addresses us all, says "now look again
you’ll see the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinac Island"
where it seems there’s never a cloud in the sky
and the water’s so clear you can see the fish sigh
and the Big Dipper sits in your lap every night
that place i called home

now my eyes are on fire but before i can cry
the past’s at my door telling me it’s all right
for no matter the years or the miles in between
this is my native land and my blood is still here
and the love and connection i still closely hold
for that place i grew up, that place i called home
i’m still part of that land like the dirt, like the snow
i’ll never drift far from that place i called home
that place i called home


© 2003 MJ Bishop