Niagara - Summer (A Recollection)

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Wilfred Yeats
Member Elite

since 2000-08-04

Posts 2704
Wilmington, Delaware

0 posted 2001-05-15 07:55 PM

(a repost from 01/99 if you like - there can be a winter repost ~S~ )

I grew up - and spent the 1st 20 plus years in western New York, visiting the Niagara Falls many times)

    Even before our west was accessible
    Niagara was a magnet
    Drawing people to its power
    The majesty of its height
    The sheer volume of water has sway
    Cascading over two falls
    Has brought them from miles away.

    Those of us living nearby
    Tend to be like New Yorkers
    Never been to the Empire State
    Feeling very fey
    Or the Statue of Liberty
    Our attitude blase

    But as youngsters we demand it
    As kids today Disneyworld require
    And our adults further succumb
    To our guests -out-of-town aspire.

    So I can tell you
    I've been there
    Wearing rain slickers
    Walking out tunnels
    Looking out at tons of water
    Falling before us in funnels

    I've been there
    Riding the Maid of the Mist
    Engines churning so fired
    As it steamed so close up
    Rain gear was also required.

    I've been there
    Walking catwalks of wood
    Approaching the rocks
    Where the falling waters danced oh!
    Before continuing their journey
    Down the gorge to Lake Ontario

    I've been there
    Riding the Spanish Air Car
    On cables across the whirlpools
    Waters swirling and churning
    In the gorge below the falls.
    With excitement this child was burning

    And the trek down to waters' edge
    In the park by rushing water flow
    Where Ant Lions burrow in the paths
    I've been there watching them so

    Engineers - recognized power
    And also the beauty too
    They carefully siphoned some water
    For their hydroelectric power
    Without damaging the sight.
    Nor even disturbing the view

    When the first power plant
    Just below the Rainbow Bridge
    Was destroyed by water and poor design
    After years of working it seemed
    Looking like a bomb had hit it
    I saw the rubble in water flow gleamed

    The drive down the river
    Into the city fair
    Could cause a rude shock
    To your system, the smell was very rare
    The power generation
    Attracted chemical plants
    They came, no hesitation

    As odors less than fragrant
    Wafted in the car window
    My dad with sly grin, plants in view
    Said to me every time we came
    "Son, is the sun on you?"

    But nothing can match the magic
    That we felt back in that time
    We were kids, were indestructible.
    The feeling was sublime

    We could float the crest in a barrel
    Bob in waves then after the plunge
    Walk the wires over the whirlpool
    In water we'd act like a sponge

    Yes to me the falls is a special place
    I saw my first black person there
    She waited our table politely
    I just up and stared
    My uncle said with a smile
    "That's just the way God made her."
    I've remembered for many a mile

    Later at ten saw a movie -
    And not one just for kids
    No adult accompanied
    My cousin and I without Pa
    We saw Bogart, and Bergman
    We saw Casablanca.

    When older I could drive by myself
    It's where I took girls on dates in dad's car
    Anyone could take one to a local hangout
    They were special when you drove them that far

    At night they light up the falls with floods
    Colored in reds, greens and blues
    It's very romantic to stand there and gaze
    Colored in soft pastel hues.

    Yes, Niagara Falls has some memories
    More than just a few
    If you're looking for a honeymoon spot
    It's a perfect place for two.

The first duty of love is to listen.

~ Paul Tillich ~