The Waters
_‘Tis more than oceanic seas
___That bring me Wonder.
I have tasted spray from New York’s waterfall,
_And counted ripples on the rills
___In places yonder.
My spirit gravitates where waters call.
_In years of yore, we sailed the bay
___In San Diego.
I’ve known the Salmon River in the dawn,
_And strolled along majestic shores
___Of old Lake Tahoe,
And touched a shiny dewdrop on my lawn.
_O then there were my early years
___In Minnesota—
Those frigid glacial lakes where I could swim,
_And I recall the flowing streams
___Of Colorado
Where floated lovely leaves of aspen limb.
Margaret Brinton has lived in San Diego’s inland valley area for over forty years where she taught and tutored. Her poems have recently been published in California Quarterly and Westward Quarterly and The Lyric with upcoming work in the greeting card industry. She has previously been published in the Penwood Review and many other publications.
Margaret, what joy you express in your sweet sentimental poem of remembrance of your time spent with/in waterfalls, bays, lakes, and streams. It was as though you were a descendant of the Vikings (coming from Minnesota).
A frenetic poetic journey spanning from the present day back to childhood, across America. I can almost taste the spray from Niagra. I also liked the change up in scale, from dewdrops to the mighty Colorado River, and, by inference, the Grand Canyon.
Thanks for the read, Margaret.
Beatifully expressed, Margaret.
to Roy and Paul and JD,
I very much appreciate your kind feedback, gentlemen.
I also want to thank Evan for continuing to accept nature poems.
Your flowing form, Margaret, suggests the irregular shape of a small stream. Through these 18 lines, you swim with many words describing bodies of water, from “drop” to “ocean,” and more to indicate its motion, along with motions of you the observer. And you specify places with proper names, claiming and positioning this human wonder at water as your own experience. I understand, and I know persons who insist on living in view of water as soon as they are able to choose their own residence.
A very beautiful and enjoyable poem Margaret.
Margaret, I think one clue to the success of your poem is its title. Yes, its subject is “water”; but “The Waters” has the ring of majesty, and encompasses H2O in aspects ranging from the noise and force of one of the world’s great waterfalls to the silent delicacy of a dewdrop. The gently autobiographical element adds just enough of a personal touch to make the poem more than merely a list of natural phenomena. And by the way, to one who, like me, has never visited America and never will, the place names you include are highly evocative. I enjoy the poem more with each reading, so thank you.
I am pleased that you felt something emotive in my poem, Martin!
Thank you, Margaret C. and Norma, for your input.
From Margaret B.
Lovely, just lovely. Would that I had been able to see things so clearly. From lake to pond, the waters bridged are unabridged, and serious communicants should just swim over.
I appreciate that you have read and commented on my work, C.B.