Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between Canada and the United States; more specifically, between the province of Ontario and the state of New York. They form the southern end of the Niagara Gorge.
From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls lie mostly on the Canadian side and the American Falls entirely on the American side, separated by Goat Island. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the other waterfalls by Luna Island. The international boundary line was originally drawn through Horseshoe Falls in 1819, but the boundary has long been in dispute due to natural erosion and construction.
I’m claiming “home field advantage” on this one! Your charge today on this visit is to write a poem of, about or inspired by Niagara Falls. You can include the “Cave of the Winds”, the “Maid of the Mist”, the spectacular lighting effects used to highlight the wonder of Niagara. Even the roar of the water is highly poetic. Choose your viewpoint and let your words cascade!
Phoenix Rising Poetry Guild 
[…] on the travelogue prompts, Niagara Falls from Phoenix Rising and Heeding Haiku gives us […]
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https://vivinfrance.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/13394/
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I had a “water, water everywhere” feeling as I read those. Many thanks.
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Waterfall
lips pour your name, mist thin
and burning cold as pale-spun milk,
and I have this yearning to drink
in your thrill as you chase the edge
to be free, to fall and fall forever
into a veiled halo of all others.
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Wow. This is transcendent.
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Thanks!!
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“Drink in your thrill” – I love that!
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Thanks! 😀
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IT’S BEST NOT TO DISDAIN A SHORT STREAM
Sometimes,
Old Man River
can get mighty perturbed.
and then he just keeps barrelling
along.
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whoops…. wrong dot…
Sometimes,
Old Man River
can get mighty perturbed,
and then he just keeps barrelling
along.
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July 10 – Niagara Falls
The Mighty Falls
I’ve seen the massive falls in action
Heard the thunder of millions of gallons
Of rushing water cascading down
To the rocks and water below
I’ve felt the mist of the fresh clean water
Blown by the wind to the observation deck
Cool, refreshing with a friendly chilly bite
Just enough to haze my glasses
I’ve seen the seemingly permanent rainbow
From left to right through the misty cloud
Looked down at the boat of tourists in raincoats
Searching for the pot of gold at the bottom
As I gazed on its splendor and power
I could see God’s hand in its creation
A sign of His Glory and a gift for us all
The mighty falls roars on regardless
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Alternative Ending:
As I gazed on its splendor and power
My thoughts drifted back to my plumbing days
I know with the crew that I had in the Air Force
We could fix this leak once and for all
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I like that alternative. Broke me up-.
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[…] PHOENIX RISING JULY P.A.D. TRAVELOG – DESTINATION: POETRY (NIAGARA FALLS) […]
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Goat Island
Just one persisted through ice
that winter wouldn’t break her
all seeing iris –
golden eyes survived such cold
the namesake of Goat Island.
Copyright © Hannah Gosselin 2015
John Stedman—an early pioneer and miller—kept a herd of goats on the island. Upon returning to the island after the terrible winter of 1780, Stedman found all but one of the goats had died, thus giving the island its name.
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I never knew that story, and I live pretty close to Niagara (compared to Maine, anyway). I especially like “all seeing iris”; it lends itself to a variety of images. Wonderful.
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I didn’t know this one either…I love goats, (especially their eyes), so the name caught my attention…I’m so glad you enjoyed this, William. 🙂 Thank you!
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That caught my imagination also. Lovely poem. Fascinating story.
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MADE OF THE MIST
The air below churns and yearns
to dance in the foamy wake.
It takes a circuitous route
as cascades crash, smashing
against the rocks below. Thunderous
wonder of the world. Your winds
swirl as your micro-droplets
collect. On a boat so close
you can taste Niagara’s mist.
This is the epitome of awe
and wonder. Under the rainbow,
a new world transcends
below the mighty falls,
down where the Niagara River ends.
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Accompanying photo viewed at Across the Lake, Eerily –
https://aleerily.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/made-of-the-mist/
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I admire this poem for the sounds it evokes, even without pictures. it also taught me something. I didn’t realize that the Niagara River ends at the falls; I thought it continued on to Lake Ontario.
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Bill, when it hits Lake Ontario, it becomes Lake Ontario.
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Love the title, and all the vivid images, Walt. Loved that you used, under the rainbow.
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[…] For Phoenix Rising July P.A.D. Travelog – Destination: Poetry – Niagara Falls […]
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At the Falls
http://rhymeswithbug.wordpress.com/2015/07/At
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previous link takes tou to the wrong poem
http://rhymeswithbug.wordpress.com/2015/07/At-the-Falls/
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Where else, indeed. I love that poem.
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Thank you!
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A reprise from 2011…
NIAGARA FALLS (A RETURN)
Nature’s wonder
under the thunder,
over the span of generations
the cascade continues.
One of those venues that
stirs the heart
and moistens the eyes
(and most of your clothes
if the wind takes a turn)
You yearn for the beauty
to capture you, taking
your pulse to feed its frenzy.
Many come to be enchanted,
enhanced by the sheer power
they can stare for hours.
Newlyweds and wannabes,
seek to sneak a peek
on their way to more
intimate locales. Sex sells
but in the shell of the gorge,
the churning is matched
only by the memory it leaves.
Branded upon a romantic heart,
the roar of Niagara remains.
She never leaves you.
You’d be a stooge to not
take refuge in her thunder.
Nature’s wonder, Niagara Falls.
Slowly I turn…
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Ah Walt you thought of it too.
Slowly I Turned
S ilvery waters roar
T umbling down in
E normous amouts
P ounding out its presence
B old and energetic
Y elling out loud, “I am here!”
S lowly I
T urned gazing at all
E ncompassing beauty
P erfected in Niagara Falls!
Based on the title Slowly I Turned, an Abbot and Castello skit.
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Another memory:
NIAGARA RIVER
The Niagara River run
helps provide some fun,
betwixt New York and Ontario,
it is truly number one.
It’s Lake Erie that begets you,
Lake Ontario is what gets you.
Your ebb and flow is the way to go,
if the damn ice dam will let you.
Your rapid current runs quite fast,
around Grand Island you go past,
over the gorge to down below,
your mighty fall is a real blast.
Niagara Falls, she is a mover,
her mist sprays far, you’ll need rain cover,
lovers scurry for her show,
until the honeymoon is over!
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Maid of the Mist
Through the mist they rode
faces sprayed
as they laughed.
Entered Horseshoe Falls,
wide eyes, mouths agape
at a shape that formed.
A maiden rose from cascades–
brief moment,
not witnessed
by anyone else.
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