How Niagara Falls by bp Nichol

nichol
Orca Whales Performing in the “D” at Marineland Referred to in Nichol’s Poem
Image courtesy of Niagara Falls Public Library

the two
dolphins in
their tank
doing
what is called
“the dance”
by poets
and
the crowd
around

………a
full afternoon
of
dancing around

the
…..D
the monkey’s tail made
in 
that
painting by
Seurat
the shoe-store owner
imitated
for purpose of
display

mo-
tels.

more & more
mo-
tels.

fish mouths
in
supplication

“Double
………….or
Single
Breakfast of
Bacon & Eggs”

“My dear
where
have you been?
What’ve you been
doing? I mean
where have you been?”

At this spot
General Brock
yelled
“forward
.men of York!”
the
Niagara
Parks Commission
built a monument.

the
rest of us
look for
slogans
on which to
base our immortality

they’ve
allowed
Missisauga to
rot, “a
most pitiable
crime.”  the 
doorway to
the second storey
cannot be seen 
any longer

past journeys
are
implied

presence
is
present

the highway
follows the gorge
from 
the border
to
the fort
they built
called
Missisauga
then
never used

it is the same
on both sides -the way
the road
goes, the way
the motels rose

“We
want you to
live”
……..U.S.DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
……..AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
……..PLANT QUARANTINE DIVISION

Rooms for tourists
seems
logical
in
a place
no one
would want
to live – all
that water
..to go
over the edge

we bought
shoes in
the shoe store, a
wooden frog
in
the
aquarium, those
things
……….a
person collects
he
refers
the
present to

no
feelings
just
objects. no
things we
wanted to
remember
the day by.

beyond the fort
Lake Ontario had
worn the shore away. the
sky
was grey. it
rained
most of the day.

leaving the American side
a couple were kissing
just because they stood
on
the border line.


Source: Bowering, George (ed). Imago 10: Featuring bp Nichol. Montreal: English Dept., Sir George Williams University, 1967. Accessed on JSTOR 

Read about bp Nichol

Le Niagara by Louis Honoré Fréchette

 

frechette
Niagara Falls, 1902
Published by the Empire Picture Co. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress

L’onde majestueuse avec lenteur s’écoule ;
Puis, sortant tout à coup de ce calme trompeur,
Furieux, et frappant les échos de stupeur,
Dans l’abîme sans fond le fleuve immense croule.

C’est la Chute ! son bruit de tonnerre fait peur
Même aux oiseaux errants, qui s’éloignent en foule
Du gouffre formidable où l’arc-en-ciel déroule
Son écharpe de feu sur un lit de vapeur.

Tout tremble ; en un instant cette énorme avalanche
D’eau verte se transforme en monts d’écume blanche,
Farouches, éperdus, bondissant, mugissant. . .

Et pourtant, ô mon Dieu, ce flot que tu déchaînes,
Qui brise les rochers, pulvérise les chênes,
Respecte le fétu qu’il emporte en passant.


Source: Fréchette, Louis Honoré.  Feuilles Volantes ; Oiseaux de Neiges: (cent et un sonnets). Éd. définitive, rev., corr. et augm. Montréal: Librairie Beauchemin, 1908. This poem is dated 1868

A recording, and analysis of this poem, as well as a biography of Fréchette can be found on this page by Camille Chevalier-Karfis

An English translation of this poem by Charles Pelham Mulvany can be found here

 

Nature’s Wonder by Ruth Sullivan

sullivan
Niagara Falls
Photo by Edward Koorey on Unsplash

The falls of Niagara roll on, and on,
Tumbling and tossing, hither and yon,
Foaming and frothing over rocks, and shale,
Forever and ever, on its ancient trail.

Down through the rapids the water flows,
Twirling, and swirling as onward it goes,
Not a heed for anything on its way,
As it gains momentum, day after day.

What a story if water could tell!
All the happenings it knows so well,
Such beauty it leaves on a misty day,
When a rainbow appears on display.

Lights turned on the falls at night,
Illuminate a dazzling sight,
Tourists from far and wide see bliss,
The falls of Niagara, you must not miss.

Views in nature are a large feat.
Of the many you chance to meet
Come, see how the cataract enthralls.
Beautiful, beautiful Niagara Falls.


Source: Ely, Howard (ed.) The Best Poems and Poets of 2004. The International Library of Poetry, 2005

Ruth Sullivan was a long-time Niagara Falls resident.  Sullivan

 

Niagara Beautiful by Samuel R. Cristelli

cristelli
The Ice Bridge at Niagara Falls, February 5, 2007
Photo by Andrew Porteus

Fine sprays, colored rainbows,
Rushing waters, winter snows.
Majestically she roars her might,
Niagara, a truly beautiful sight!

Hark! Let us lend an ear
To rumbling sounds that are so near
Recognize her music with pride,
To Niagara! a drink we’ll imbibe!

Breathlessly we watch on a cold winter’s night
When NIagara waters are frozen tight
Ice bridges are formed on waters now ice,
Figurines are molded, does that not suffice?

The stage is set and sounds are slight,
Niagara is silenced by winter’s might.
A command performance soon we’ll see,
As Niagara prepares to break herself free!

With a mighty roar, she blasts her authority
Her fury is unleashed, she’s in her glory
Ice bridges are broken and skirting away
Niagara beautiful has had her say!

The rumbling sounds are heard once more
As Niagara boasts her strength galore!
All is beautiful-so serene
Beautiful Niagara, really supreme!


Source: Samuel R. Cristelli (Dec 5,1921 – Jul 18,1997). The date this poem was written is unknown. Cristelli, a WWII veteran, worked as an electrician and he wrote this poem for the electrical shop newsletter.  When he retired he worked as a supervisor with The Regional Municipality of Niagara at the Pollution Control Plant. The poem was provided by the author’s daughter, Shelley.

Read about the 1912 tragedy on the ice bridge that took 3 lives when it unexpectedly broke up

cristelli

The Battle of Queenston Heights by Francis Sparshott

 

 

sparshott
Brock and Sheaffe
Image from the St. Catharines Standard,
Oct. 10, 2012

The Yankees stood on Queenston Heights
in coats of modest grey
and Brock has brought his fencibles
to make them go away

Who is that sweating officer
waving a useless sword?
That’s General Sir Isaac Brock
who wants to be a Lord

God bless the British soldier
who wears a coat of red
it makes a splendid target
and so they shot him dead

They laughed to see the fencibles
run down the hill in fear
but Roger Sheaffe has scaled the Heights
and caught them in the rear

Who is this cool young officer
who shoots us through the heart?
That’s Major General Roger Sheaffe
who wants to be a Bart

Now all you bold Canadian girls
remember Queenston Heights
it’s thanks to such as Brock and Sheaffe
that you sleep safe at nights

Cool Sheaffe was made a Baronet
and back to England sent
but Brock still stands on Queenston Heights
upon his monument


Source: Francis Sparshott.  The Naming of the Beasts. Windsor, Ont.: Black Moss Press, 1979.

Originally published in Descant

About Francis Sparshott

Read the article The Hero of Queenston about the treatment of Sheaffe

Read about Isaac Brock

Read about Roger Sheaffe

D.M.R. Bentley briefly discusses this poem by Sparshott in his essay (now archived on the WayBack Machine) Monumental Tensions: the Commemoration of British Political and Military Heroes in Canada from his Mnemographia Canadensis, volume 1: Muse and Recall