Poet inspired by Cadillac Mountain 

BAR HARBOR — A poem inspired by and titled “Cadillac Mountain” is part of a new collection by North Carolina poet Terri Kirby Erickson.  

The collection, “A Sun Inside My Chest,” will be published Oct. 8 by Press 53. It is the sixth book by Erickson, who has won numerous awards for her poetry including the Atlanta Review International Publication Prize and the Nautilus Book Silver Award. 

She told the Islander she visited “gorgeous Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park” a few years ago and that her Cadillac Mountain poem “reflects that magical experience.” 

Cadillac Mountain 

By Terri Kirby Erickson 

Far above the rocky shores of Mount Desert Island,  

we stand on Cadillac Mountain — the sea below us  

bluer than the bluest sky — with smaller islands rising 

from the water like whales breaching the surface 

to breathe. The morning sun heats our heads and faces, 

but the air is brisk and the wind blows in rhythmic 

gusts as if this mountain is a ship sailing into a storm. 

Children clamor over the stones, the sounds of their  

laughter blown like silt that settles among the green 

alder and goldenrod, flat-topped asters and sheep laurel. 

In a land carved by glaciers, people are as transient 

as butterflies. Yet, we leave behind stories and songs 

and poems for others to find — the miracle of our lives 

like sails furling and unfurling, while rocks go on and 

on, puncturing the soil and piercing this radiant sea. 

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Dick Broom

Reporter at Mount Desert Islander

Dick Broom covers the towns of Mount Desert and Southwest Harbor, Mount Desert Island High School and the school system board and superintendent's office. He enjoys hiking with his golden retriever and finding new places for her to swim. [email protected]

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