Poem | Gunflint Lake: Sunset | Commonweal Magazine

the truth is the light and light is the truth
from Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man

A fiery sun
made a path toward us
on the rippled water
and scattered pink shavings
over the rest.

Night was falling.
Our differences encircled
us and a chill air.

But the light. It gathered us
at the edge of the lake,
and we stood.
We were pilgrims of the light.

Franco Pagnucci, emeritus professor of English at University of Wisconsin-Platteville, has published a chapbook, two short poetry anthologies and five books of poetry, the most recents: Tracks on Damp Sand and Breath of the Onion—Italian-American Anecdotes. His essays have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor and Commonweal. His poetry is included in News of the Universe, American Voices, and Best American Poetry, 1999.