Friday, May 16, 2008

Falls 2


I'm writing you this letter today with loose leaf on a clip board and a pencil.
I've been wandering around Niagara Falls, watching the mist rising to meet the precipice of the escarpment.
There are thousands of birds, some I've known and many whose names I can't say, and I wish you were here.
When I walk above the swirling waters and hear the thundering tumult in my ears I feel drawn into it
It calls out from that last moment, the space between the stone and the surface where the edge shows through,
ever replenished, ever replaced, to the bottom and into the undertow.
I'm set adrift, an umbrella turned upside down, caught in the eddy current and cycling and circling.
Its handle holding my hand.
I'm standing on the shoulders of a giant and all this water is held up by some fabric over a thin metal frame.
I've been walking around thinking about you and your time here,
about the inspiration for a shape poem that's traveled so far and so well.
The water falling like hair.
The bridge like a cord spanning a great distance.
It all comes back and the wish is that I had someone to share all of this with,
someone who could have shared the journey.


I sat and had lunch in The Secret Garden.
On the way out the door I noticed on the last table a book,
The Book of Answers.
I don't know if you remember it from before.
It asks you to hold it in your hands,
to think on your question for a few moments and then just open it up to a page.
You must know the question I asked.
When I flicked to a spot on the first try it said only two words:
Move On.
I closed it again and walked out, thinking, 'I can't,'
and how all this day you've filled my thoughts
like the light rain now falling on this page would fill that umbrella to the brim
and my heart beating like mad and I think, 'Yes... yes I would,'
I feel lifted by the elements around and the wisdom they speak,
for we love what we love, not only what loves us back.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

At some point
The water
The falls
The very escarpment itself

The stone
The wind
Circling birds
And all

Even down
To every one
Of us

Moves on


Love
You
What
Love
Always
Will
You
Way
Either

human being said...

and
your love's never lost...
you don't see her face
yet
she's let down
her golden path
out there
to see how daring you are
to climb up
to move on...

sukipoet said...

Very sad and melancholy. Niagra falls a place with lots of meanings re: lovers going there to get married. I think. Take care, blessings, Suki

switch said...

where is that damn "move on" portal when you need it?

love is love and that is all.

Debra Kay said...

Emotions suck sometimes-no time table, no thought for order or what else is going on in your life-messy things, emotions. Love 'em, hate 'em, watcha gonna do?

BBC said...

You monkeys sure do write a lot of poetry. So tell me something, how is it making the world a better place?

Hey, just asking.

Unknown said...

OK, you asked, so

Writing poetry
Reading poetry
Helps keep me sane
So I do less hurt
And more good

I connect better
Love more
Give more
Help more
See more

Is the world better for that?
You betcha

For someone
Who claims
To be so far ahead
Of us all

You sure have lost
Your connection
To the collective
Soul

Mankind
May not be saved
By a poem or
A painting

But a movement can start
With just such words
Thoughts
Images
And actions

And movements
Bring change
As someone so far ahead
Surely knows

Your Shtick
Of calling people
Like me monkeys
Is every bit an act
As any poem on these pages

Passive-aggressive
Hugs
And all

If you truly think
I am no more than a monkey
That women have no spirit
And that there is no value
In the joy of creativity

Then I would suggest
That you are not as far ahead
As you like to boast
And I fear
That I
Am beyond your comprehension

Hey, just saying.

Unknown said...

Very beautiful letter written at the Niagara Falls. Love is like that. Sometimes. And like a sad but poetic memory.
LIke the comments too.
love
andrea

Unknown said...

PS: How funny, I just left my comment here and then found your's in my inbox:) I have been on holiday in Germany for two weeks (have a look at the pictures on cestandrea) and Miss Doodle will be back bright and shining soon:)
love
Andrea

GirlBoyGirl said...

I feel like I am here every day. Not only because I live in Niagara Falls and that picture is only a short walk away, but because... well just because. Mostly the last line. Life shouldn't feel so lonely, especially when there are so many people around.