Editor:
Three Sonnets
Before The Flood
The rain falls equally on rich and poor
It’s blind to race to colour or to creed
A vibrant life force clear and sweet and pure
It constitutes a basic human need
It feeds the forest meadows and the plains
Lends life to rivers, lakes and streams as well
Refreshed, the world awakens when it rains
We soak it up and bask in nature’s spell
But when high country is packed with snow
And still it rains; turns winter snow to slush
Which adds its power to the runoff flow
And swells the creeks in and explosive rush
Then best don rain gear and stand guard
Creeks will threaten house home and yard
Cougar Creek
The runoff creeks have acted up before
And in the past they’ve mostly been contained
But this rain lasted for a week or more
And Cougar Creek roared like a beast unchained
It lashed in anger at its gravel bed
Unstoppable it could not be appeased
It jumped its banks and as we watched in dread
It brought the rail and highway to their knees
The tidy line of houses in a row
Assaulted randomly, they shook with fear
And then the rain abated and we know
The creek receded, and for now we’re clear
And in its wake we ponder and we think
On creek designs to keep us from the brink
Local Heroes
The creeks went wild, we wondered what to do
Folks watched the carnage huddled in the rain
And as creeks rampaged and the torrent grew
Creekside homes were under stress and strain
Track hoes and dozers busy in the rain
To keep the current distant from the banks
And clean out culverts so water could drain
Against all odds, they’ve earned a vote of thanks
And as the night wore on the boiling creek
Gave rise to a disaster declaration
Police and Town officials then did seek
A creek vicinity evacuation
Now as we help each other to move on
We thank our local heroes; also JOHN
Bert Dyck
Canmore’s Poet Laureate
