Twilight on Sandusky Marsh, by John Hay

First appearing in Harper's Magazine on page 475 of Volume 93, in 1896, this poem also appeared in the 1916 book THE COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS OF JOHN HAY, on page 234, and is available at Google Books. THE COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS OF JOHN HAY was published by the Houghton Mifflin Company, and featured an introduction by John Hay's son, Clarence Leonard Hay.























The state of Ohio has always had wetlands, which include swamps, marshes, and bogs. Several marshes are located close to the shore of Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie in northern Ohio. Marshes are a natural habitat for a several plants and animals. I can recall my uncle, Wayne Orshoski, trapping muskrats in the marshes not far from his home.

We do not know exactly which marsh John Milton Hay wrote about in his poem, but throughout history, residents of Erie and Sandusky Counties have all heard the birds and other wildlife, felt the refreshing breezes, and have seen the lovely twilight sky that can be viewed as the sun goes down in the evening hours near the marsh lands close to Sandusky Bay.