Pristine Poem by Glen Kappy
Pristine
We'd traveled many miles
with all the sameness—
fence posts in a blur
as we rushed by—
before we came upon
this crossing of the Snake.
And there—surprise! —
a view that made us stop
that made me think
of Clark and Lewis
paddling their canoes
until they saw this very spot.
Was it pristine then?
Or was it at that moment
we just had to park our car?
Or any time or sight
it would be false
to use the word 'again'?
Ah-ha- -you have seen the Snake..... it has a grand place in Northwest history.... we have often ridden the rapids on Mike's tour boats when he started his business down there many years ago.... But my heart belongs to the mighty Columbia on whose shore I live and dream gentle dreams that pass by like the tumbleweeds blown into the river by the desert winds... I enjoy how they float along on their way toward the junction of first the Yakima and then the Snake and I think of the tribes who lived here and passed through here and sometimes wintered here and left arrowheads deep in the sand... I am glad you vacationed in our countryside- -we have so much for everyone's taste- -mountains and evergreens and sleeping volcanoes and waterfalls and deer and bear and cougars [all of which roam into our city here as well as our farmyards and vineyards and we have what we call deserts with their sagebrush and sand dunes and rattlesnakes but the scientific books call us a plateau...... oops, your poem started me to waxing on and on about my homeland!
hey, susan! interesting to know you live by the columbia. on the washington or oregon side- or further east? one of my memories of the columbia is hitchhiking by it in spring, with inadequate weather for the cold, sleeping bag wrapped around me, waiting waiting for someone to pick us up. -glen
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/6/2024 6:47:22 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Again, I want to say, You Buddhist you! Were you consciously speaking about the Heraclitus quote?
your comment makes me smile, suzanne. thank you for it. no, i don't even know the quote you're alluding to. you'll have to pass it on to me. don't know if i can recapture what spurred on this poem, but it had something to do with those instances we really see something as for the first time, no thought between us and the thing observed, marveling again at the beauty in this world. -glen