As though
the river were
a floor, we position
our table and chairs
upon it, eat, and
have conversation.
As it moves along,
we notice—as
calmly as though
dining room paintings
were being replaced—
the changing scenes
along the shore. We
do know, we do
know this is the
Niagara River, but
it is hard to remember
what that means.
Kay Ryan, the sixteenth Library of Congress’ Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, has published a book of poetry with its title taken from her poem The Niagara River. The Niagara Falls Poetry Project has received permission to post this poem.
Information about the book can be found on Grove Atlantic’s website and on Goodreads .
Kay Ryan reads from and discusses The Niagara River starting at 16:20
Listen to a podcast about The Niagara River from Mark Scarborough, host of Lyric Life.