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Columbia River between Oregon and Washington States
pure drops of water,
crystal clear,
trickle from portals
in glacier-sided mountains,
filling secret streams
Emerging hastily to catch up with
her many tributaries
Like her children,
all join her as she mightily
travels through the emerald
Cascade mountain range,
quenching her land's thirsty throat
Home to Chinook salmon and
Indian spirit lakes mirroring the sky,
'tis where I hail from,
where I was raised by
her coolness bathing my mind,
instilling in my heart passion
for pristine waterfalls,
places named for legendary chiefs -
Multnomah, Sealth, and
Swinomish
It led Sacajawea
and Lewis & Clark on virgin trails
through tall timbers
along its route winding to the sea
Roll on, goes the song,
roll on Columbia,
roll on
She engages along the way,
ghosts of history
who inhabit her banks
Train tracks on either side,
gigantic dams constructed,
speak of energy supplied
to people living far and wide
Separated by heaven and earth,
she is the main artery,
churning sustenance
from darkness to dawn
She is the life blood, vein in some cases.
She journeys west, nourishing
as she creates bounty galore -
apple orchards, produce,
vinyards and wild huckleberries; from mussels and clams to cedar and fir boughs, from elegant elk
to wildflowers and forests.
The population writes, reads and paints her beauty
While continually,
she flows easily into
the wide sandy
mouth of the Pacific
ocean with
sighs of relief...
roll on Columbia,
roll on
She engages along the way,
ghosts of history
who inhabit her banks
Train tracks on either side,
gigantic dams constructed,
speak of energy supplied
to people living far and wide
Separated by heaven and earth,
she is the main artery,
churning sustenance
from darkness to dawn
She is the life blood, vein in some cases.
She journeys west, nourishing
as she creates bounty galore -
apple orchards, produce,
vinyards and wild huckleberries; from mussels and clams to cedar and fir boughs, from elegant elk
to wildflowers and forests.
The population writes, reads and paints her beauty
While continually,
she flows easily into
the wide sandy
mouth of the Pacific
ocean with
sighs of relief...
