N  a  p a  l  m     H  e  a  l  t  h     S  p  a  :     R  e  p  o  r  t     2  0  1  0

 

 

DAVID COPE

 

 

Tahquamenon

 

I felt him

            near me as I descended the stairs

alone

the falls we had shared roaring beyond—

 

distant thunder

crowds on the viewing deck

and below me,

tannin foam swirling cloud designs—

 

he was there

beside me, briefly—

then I was alone, the wind lifting the leaves

 

the laughter of my grown children

coming up behind me.