The all night rain continued
Into the late morning hours
Abating just as I arrived down the hill
Unsure how to cross the torrent of a brook
Coming to check on the cabin opposite
Where years ago I enjoyed overnight stays
Showing its age waiting on the other side
For when it might be occupied again
Stepping into the brown water flooding past
Carrying the rapid rain runoff rising fast
Reaching near the top of my tall rubber boots
As I inch my way carefully testing the depth
Turning back not risking injury from a fall
Since I can see from here the cabin is intact
And the green ash tree next to it is alive
Spared for now from the ash borer infestation
The flow of energy surging past excites me
Watching the roiling surface bubbling up
Seeing the standing wave crests churn
Swept along over the rushing waterfall
This cabin represents a past life
A familiar place we once set foot
Vacant now and inaccessible today
But full of personal memories
