You are the water of my youth
Bubbling, dancing, gurgling exuberance!
Somersaulting over waterfalls,
Plunging into the lake.
Without a care you wear white lace.
You don't care about the moss behind your ears
Or the twigs in your hair.
You have wildflowers in your eyes.
You lie down in the Jumbo Mountain Valley
And stay up all night chatting and laughing
Under the stars.
I am the Columbia, the serious water.
I flow through inland deserts.
I tolerate dams and remember, turning on the Steppe,
The dam-bursting power of my ancient past.
My beautiful neck and mouth give life to cities,
But I look to my roots:
The rippling waters of Columbia Lake;
The Kootenay River surrounding my source
Like a soothing arm around an infant;
And you, my child of the glaciers:
Free Water of a pure beginning.

© Jim Hanson
Portland, Oregon
August 2, 2007