THE GRAND COULEE

Older than legends,
Younger than mountains,
The earth remembers
The Great Inland Sea.

And that Sea emptied
In torrential fury
Never imagined
Even in dreams.

Down through the canyons,
Flood of all rivers
Carving the coulees
Time, time again.

Roiled surging waters,
Thunder of thunders,
Swift toward the ocean
Reshaping the plain.

Gone with the glaciers
Is the great Lake Missoula,
Gone from remembrance,
Like mist in the wind.

Yet the story is etched
In the canyons and coulees
Left for those who imagine
To seek and to find.

David Wahl January 4, 2002