Area ravines inspired Bradbury poem

Between Waukegan and Evanston are a series of forested ravines that run inland from the bluffs along Lake Michigan, sometimes as far back as one mile. These ravines were created by the erosion of the glacial moraine left behind some 12,000 years ago with the retreat of the Laurentide Glacier.

Not only are ravines extraordinarily beautiful, but they are also interesting because of the presence of plants that are generally only found further north. These plants include paper birch and white pine trees and the starflower. These more northern plants are considered “relics” from the area's cooler climate in postglacial times. These natural features often became a place of great adventure as recalled in the following excerpt from Ray Bradbury's poem “Remembrance”:

But most of all I wished to find the places where I ran
As dogs do run before or after boys
The paths put down by Indians or brothers wise and swift
Pretending at a tribe.
I came to the ravine.
I half-slid down the path
A man with greying hair but seeming supple thoughts
And saw the place was empty.
Fools! I thought. O, boys of this new year,
Why don't you know the Abyss waits you here?
Ravines area special fine and lovely green
And secretive and wandering with apes and thugs
And bandit bees that steal from flowers to give to trees
This poetic recollection of Bradbury's childhood in Waukegan emphasizes the hidden treasure of ravines. First published, July, 2003