Author: Andrew Porteus

Andrew Porteus is a retired librarian who started the Niagara Falls Poetry Project in 1998 in order to gather in one place the hundreds of poems that exist about Niagara Falls. Andrew returned to Brock University to get a Master of Art degree based on the website

[Father Louis Hennepin] by Captain Flynn

Straight up Frontenac’s Northmost side
Ever a West he sailed,
Crossing in blessed Advent tide,
Landing on great Niagara’s shore.
South he turned to a sullen roar;
His Crucifix on his heart he bore;
Never his spirit failed.

Now Glory to God, whose hand did forge
This wondrous watery road!
On ragged rim of the fearful gorge
South he toiled through brambles and moss,
Past rapids roaring like souls atoss.
He blessed himself with the sign of the Cross
At the cliff where the torrent flowed.

His little altar was quick untied;
Small waxen tapers alight,
He said the Mass of the Sanctified.
Turning South through the wintry haze,
His eyes aglow, his heart ablaze,
At Chippawa’s flow, with a song of praise,
He made his camp for the night.

Source: Ray Corry Bond. Peninsula Village: The Story of Chippawa. Chippawa: [s.n.], 1964.

AGUJERO DEL DIABLO (Cataratas del Niágara) by Margarita Feliciano

        Las hierbas mustias rompen su crisálide,
        sus verdes apagados brillan entre las rocas,
    aún se oye en el viento el aullido del hielo.
                          Las aguas allá abajo
                vertiginosas giran sus despojos,
           mientras la niebla asciende
           hacia la desmemoria del tren funicular,
        aumentando el latido de cables temblorosos
                      que avanzan hacia el fin
                        de un cielo ceniciento.

                          Y así y todo, algún día,
        habrá también narcisos y otras flores
                          en este triste sitio;
               flores ajenas a mi vida de antes
             cuando el río indecible
                     fluíacon suavidad en la miel de su sueño.

        Y a través de los años retornaré a este sitio,
        siempre vendré luciendo una sonrisa
                       -diminuta y modesta-
                       esculpida en mis labios
                       cual signo de pregunta

Source: The Author, 2001

The Floral Clock by Betty J. Beam

(a children’s poem)

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter & wife Rosalynn at the floral clock, July 10, 1996. Photo by George Bailey, courtesy of Niagara Falls Public Library

A giant clock grows on the ground
In a leafy park-land bower,
It lies against a grassy mound
Where hydro transformers tower.

The turbines make a humming sound
As water provides the power.
And power makes the hands go ’round
As bright blossoms bloom the hour,

In winter snow, no one’s around —
All lies dormant, drab and dour,
But, summer, tourist can be found
Photographing time in flower.

 

Source: The Author, 2001.

A Cow and Ice Cream by Betty J. Beam

(a children’s poem) Laura Secord

laura secord
Photo courtesy of the Petrie Collection, Niagara Falls Public Library

Laura Secord, by the record
Of the conflict of eighteen-twelve,
Walked twenty miles through wood and stream,
Queenston – Beaverdams, right on beam!
Surprise Attack! was her one theme.
A forewarned, forearmed British team
Thwarted the American scheme!

Some people vow she drove a cow,
Others are quick to deny it.
I wonder did she ever dream
That she’d be held in high esteem —
A heroine renowned, I deem,
For confections that are supreme,
Rich chocolates and super ice cream!

Source: The Author, 2001
N.B. Laura Secord is also the name of a chain of stores selling ice cream and chocolate products.

Click to see more poems about the Battle of Beaverdams and other Poems of the War of 1812 in Niagara

Brock’s Monument by Betty J. Beam

(a children’s poem)

Brock’s Monument at Queenston Heights by Reg Deacon. Photo courtesy of Niagara Falls Public Library
I climbed up Brock's Monument
    With a leap, a skip, a hop.
I climbed up Brock's Monument
    From the bottom to the top.
I climbed up Brock's Monument
    And I did it without one stop.
BUT --
Two hundred and thirty-five steps
    And I'm ready to drop!

General Brock rode Alfred
    On the daring fateful ride.
Sword drawn, he scaled Queenston Heights,
    British Red Coats at his side
The Americans could not
    Gain the summit, though they tried.
BUT --
Musket and cannon came alive
    And the man and horse died!

I climbed up Brock's Monument
    When tulips were in flower.
I climbed up Brock's Monument
    In less than half an hour.
I climbed up Brock's Monument
    Using my muscle power.
BUT --
I'm glad there's an elevator
    In the CN Tower!

Source: The Author, 2001