Niagara

Duncan Forbes

I salute you, O Frenchman, fellow-republican,
Crosser of chasms, traverser of rivers,
Walking on a rope of hempen fiber
Above the roaring thunder of mighty Niagara.

A human miracle over a natural wonder,
You walk step by step on the tautened rope
Above the spume, the spray, the ever-rising vapor
Of the cataract’s incessantly tumbling torrent.

On a filament, balanced between America and Canada,
You perform mid-crossing an impudent somersault
Over a cumulus cloud of spray-water rising.

Small man with balancing-pole, in circus costume,
You wear a blindfold and saunter over the abyss
In the watery smells of the misty air.

You cannot hear the shouts and cheers of the thousands
Watching your nimble footwork over precipitous vistas,
As we applaud the magnitude of your achievements
Above the magnificent drop of the roaring waters.

O Blondin, bridger of chasms,
I extol your unique intrepidity
As I salute Niagara afresh in this song.

The torrent unabashed, unabated, rushes headlong to crash
Into the tumult of the diluvian waterfall,
A half-drowned rainbow spectral in all that spray.

Above it you walk on a tightrope and all the while
Blue Ontario moves towards Erie
Over mighty Niagara falling, night and day.

Blondin, the great tightrope walker, first crossed mighty Niagara Falls on a rope in 1859.

Many poets have been inspired to write poems about Niagara Falls.

The Selected Poems of Duncan Forbes and other collections are available on Amazon:


Main Location:

Niagara Falls, NY, USA


Other locations:

The great Blondin, crossing Niagara Falls