A calligram written with only the nine letters that appear in LAKE ONTARIO — a, e, i, k, l, n, o, r, t — set inside an outline of the lake. Twelve pages, turned one at a time. Written in response to the renaming of the lake by the United States on 27 August 2026.
lake
lake
ontario lake
lake
ontario lake
ontario a lake to tell it not one
lake
ontario lake
ontario a lake to tell it not one
letter in it alien to it rain into rain root into root iron
lake
ontario lake
ontario a lake to tell it not one
letter in it alien to it rain into rain root into root iron
into an inlet an oar into an oak i kneel at it i look into it i lean into it i
take no note a loon alone on a lit line a tern at a tilt in air a teal an oriole a rail an errant
lake
ontario lake
ontario a lake to tell it not one
letter in it alien to it rain into rain root into root iron
into an inlet an oar into an oak i kneel at it i look into it i lean into it i
take no note a loon alone on a lit line a tern at a tilt in air a teal an oriole a rail an errant
itinerant onlooker a nekton in it a tannin in it a latent iron in it no otter in a rotten net an antler
in a torrent a laker at noon a tanker at nine a tiller a keel a knot in a net toronto on it trenton on it
an ontarian at it no one in it to title it no one to tell it no one at all it retain no letter it tolerate no
lake
ontario lake
ontario a lake to tell it not one
letter in it alien to it rain into rain root into root iron
into an inlet an oar into an oak i kneel at it i look into it i lean into it i
take no note a loon alone on a lit line a tern at a tilt in air a teal an oriole a rail an errant
itinerant onlooker a nekton in it a tannin in it a latent iron in it no otter in a rotten net an antler
in a torrent a laker at noon a tanker at nine a tiller a keel a knot in a net toronto on it trenton on it
an ontarian at it no one in it to title it no one to tell it no one at all it retain no letter it tolerate no
error it take no note attention intention iteration alteration narration notation lineation orientation
alienation alliteration reiteration toleration relation oration ration relation elation one letter later one
letter later nitrate rain alkaline air alien root aeolian rain not one alien letter a tarn in a lake a rill into a
lake
ontario lake
ontario a lake to tell it not one
letter in it alien to it rain into rain root into root iron
into an inlet an oar into an oak i kneel at it i look into it i lean into it i
take no note a loon alone on a lit line a tern at a tilt in air a teal an oriole a rail an errant
itinerant onlooker a nekton in it a tannin in it a latent iron in it no otter in a rotten net an antler
in a torrent a laker at noon a tanker at nine a tiller a keel a knot in a net toronto on it trenton on it
an ontarian at it no one in it to title it no one to tell it no one at all it retain no letter it tolerate no
error it take no note attention intention iteration alteration narration notation lineation orientation
alienation alliteration reiteration toleration relation oration ration relation elation one letter later one
letter later nitrate rain alkaline air alien root aeolian rain not one alien letter a tarn in a lake a rill into a
lake a lake a littoral take an eternal literal tale in a lateral atonal lake a loon a rational rake an irrational
ration i talk to it it talk to no one i learn no letter i akin to it it not akin to i i take one letter to it i take
one letter or i take it all it eat no oar it eat no iron it eat all it eat an aeon a taker a teller a tiller a toiler
lake
ontario lake
ontario a lake to tell it not one
letter in it alien to it rain into rain root into root iron
into an inlet an oar into an oak i kneel at it i look into it i lean into it i
take no note a loon alone on a lit line a tern at a tilt in air a teal an oriole a rail an errant
itinerant onlooker a nekton in it a tannin in it a latent iron in it no otter in a rotten net an antler
in a torrent a laker at noon a tanker at nine a tiller a keel a knot in a net toronto on it trenton on it
an ontarian at it no one in it to title it no one to tell it no one at all it retain no letter it tolerate no
error it take no note attention intention iteration alteration narration notation lineation orientation
alienation alliteration reiteration toleration relation oration ration relation elation one letter later one
letter later nitrate rain alkaline air alien root aeolian rain not one alien letter a tarn in a lake a rill into a
lake a lake a littoral take an eternal literal tale in a lateral atonal lake a loon a rational rake an irrational
ration i talk to it it talk to no one i learn no letter i akin to it it not akin to i i take one letter to it i take
one letter or i take it all it eat no oar it eat no iron it eat all it eat an aeon a taker a teller a tiller a toiler
a loner a laker o lake o little inlet o iron o oak o alkaline o aeolian in air in rain in iron in it in it in it an
era later an aeon later an ontario later nearer nearer a terrain no one enter no one alter i alter no letter it alter
all a rattle a nettle at an inlet a talon on a tern a lilt in a tone letter to letter root to root rain to rain one
lake
ontario lake
ontario a lake to tell it not one
letter in it alien to it rain into rain root into root iron
into an inlet an oar into an oak i kneel at it i look into it i lean into it i
take no note a loon alone on a lit line a tern at a tilt in air a teal an oriole a rail an errant
itinerant onlooker a nekton in it a tannin in it a latent iron in it no otter in a rotten net an antler
in a torrent a laker at noon a tanker at nine a tiller a keel a knot in a net toronto on it trenton on it
an ontarian at it no one in it to title it no one to tell it no one at all it retain no letter it tolerate no
error it take no note attention intention iteration alteration narration notation lineation orientation
alienation alliteration reiteration toleration relation oration ration relation elation one letter later one
letter later nitrate rain alkaline air alien root aeolian rain not one alien letter a tarn in a lake a rill into a
lake a lake a littoral take an eternal literal tale in a lateral atonal lake a loon a rational rake an irrational
ration i talk to it it talk to no one i learn no letter i akin to it it not akin to i i take one letter to it i take
one letter or i take it all it eat no oar it eat no iron it eat all it eat an aeon a taker a teller a tiller a toiler
a loner a laker o lake o little inlet o iron o oak o alkaline o aeolian in air in rain in iron in it in it in it an
era later an aeon later an ontario later nearer nearer a terrain no one enter no one alter i alter no letter it alter
all a rattle a nettle at an inlet a talon on a tern a lilt in a tone letter to letter root to root rain to rain one
to one no litter in it no error in it all eaten all not eaten i kneel at it i look into it all in it
no relation alone i learn a lake alone i intone o alone a lake
The poems, made up only of the letters in Lake Ontario, and inspired by the US' renaming of this shared body of water on August 27, 2026, are set inside an outline of the lake. In the upper right is Prince Edward County; the gap along the lower edge represents the New York shore, which at that latitude divides the water. The poems' constraints mean that words like the, or and, or water, cannot be included, and neither can anything plural, past, or ongoing, which seems to be an apt allegory of our political situation.
— Monique Tschofen