NIAGARA

we can hear it well before we can see it
like approaching a motorway
at first an almost inaudible background murmur
that slowly loudens into a thundering roar...
the greyhound from toronto drops us on the edge of town
spacious detached houses with overhanging eaves
stand well back from the street
funny black tufty-eared squirrels hop across the expansive lawns
stashing their booty for the winter ahead
as the roar attenuates we turn a corner
and a sweeping curtain of ice hoves into view
a perfectly sculpted white veil
plunging and melting into the river below
a mist of spray hovers high above the disgorged water
blurring the view
softening the brutality
what must the ancients have thought upon seeing this for the first time?
surely they must have believed they had reached the edge of the world?
niagara
niagara
a vision of the edge of the world
the sound of god's wrath and fury...
our passports are stamped as we cross the frontier to the us
a long low bridge straddles the turbulent waters to goat island
hemmed in between the calm serenity of the canadian horseshoe
and the raw violence of the american falls
as we cross the river
we pass a young girl with long hair
dressed in a grey duffel coat
she stands on the bridge staring out over the water
up close
the tumbling torrent is nature in all her raw power
over the centuries
many a daredevil has risked or sacrificed his life
launching himself in a barrel
over this vertigo-inducing precipice...
as we retrace our steps
and recross the bridge from goat island
we suddenly hear the scream of sirens
see the flash of blue lights
as if we have inadvertently stepped into a scene
from a hollywood action movie
a patrol car draws up and a cop gets out
'did ya see a girl on the bridge?'
a girl?
on the bridge?
our minds rewind the action
like a movie camera
spinning back through the scenes
a girl
on the bridge
oh god!
now a middle-aged couple come running up to us
all red-faced and out of breath
'we saw her! we saw her!' the woman says
'she just climbed over the top and jumped!'
the lady seems excited
almost thrilled
like she's just met the president or something...
we walk away
disgusted
inconsolable
we can no more turn back time
than we can turn off the niagara falls
later in my dreams
i see the girl in the duffel coat again
she lies face upwards
eyes closed
long brown hair flowing
floating serenely
just under the surface of the water
as her body slides over the edge of the falls
her serenity is her protection
she lands effortlessly at the bottom
slipping into the foam with barely a ripple
emerging from the fray
and continuing on her way to a new country
to a new life...