A great salmon swims close
gliding under clear cold water
I saw lesser ones, but never you
says the girl waiting at the shore
such homecoming cannot be true

Come, says the shining salmon
you have never been away;
he flicks up a glittering tail
the girl slides into gold water
no one hears the human wail

You are young, says the salmon
the sea has never baptized you
nor your soul to fear and roam.
I am never lost, says the girl
we shall follow water home

They taste the sea's bitter green
and flicker in dark-blue tides
I am lost, says the girl, I know fear
now we go home, says the salmon
the far cold waters draw near

I shall never find it, says the girl
following salmon in foam and stone;
a gold river pours down in greeting
I am home, says the salmon-girl
blessed be the waters' meeting.

Cameron La Follette lives in Salem, Oregon. She works in the environmental field as a land use advocate. She has given readings in Oregon and been a featured local poet at the annual Silverton Poetry Festival. She also founded a Classic Poetry Group in Salem to revive the study and pleasure of reading older poetry written in traditional form and meter. Her book of poetry, Anamchara, will be available September 1st, 2006 from Crane Dance Press in Eugene, Oregon.
Contact: thehomecountry@onemain.com  

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