From a Distance

Up close, you inspire awe.
The power of your stream
Crashing in my ears
For what seems like hours.

Up close, you invoke emotion.
The embrace of your spray
Covers me in a cloak
That brings me to tears.

Up close, you command attention.
The roar of your call
Demanding my study
Of history in the wake.

From a distance, you are beauty.
The full magnitude of your visage
Brightens my day
And memories on film.


I had been to see Niagara Falls a few times before I took mom. My best friend lived in Buffalo for a number of years, so I was very familiar. This time, however, was mom’s first and her first time going into Canada. So many new experiences: Tim Horton’s (get the birthday cake donut holes!) and gas by the liter. The falls, though, she experienced from the car because walking would down from the parking lot on either side of the border would have been too much for her at the time. We might need to go back.


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Published by B. Isabel Writes

Bobbie Isabel is a lover of words. She spent her childhood escaping in books and finding solace in the public library. Her career in education circled around language in all its forms (spoken, aural, written, etc.), and she takes all of those experiences into account in her writing. As an adult, she finds healing in poetry, exploring themes such as vulnerability and authenticity in her poems. When she’s not writing, you can find her in the audience reveling in the language-rich environment of musical theater.

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