Ode to the Ottawa

Sometimes you flow in a torrent.
Sometimes you appear to be so still.
You’re narrow and fast,
Then wide and slow.
You give life to the geese
But you take man’s lives in the snow.
You feed the Canada geese,
But killed the Sweeney brothers too.
You’re bright and smooth and blue,
Then you’re dark and you’re rough and you’re grey;
It depends upon the day.
You’re beautiful and you’re fascinating
Any time of the year.
In summer leaves are green.
The sky is blue
As are you;
A reflection of the day,
All warm, and ready for the day.
In winter, trees are grey,
The sky is white,
And so are you,
All cold
And glistening in the bay.
So constant,
Always there;
Only changing moods;
Mirroring the sky’s full glare.
It’s as though you stare
And expose my soul all bare.

Cy, 1989?