Cannonsville, NY, was flooded in 1964 to make way for the Cannonsville Reservoir.
Cannonsville in the Catskills, New York
If you haven’t noticed
the mists on mountains
let me remind you
of their drifts
like ghostly drapes
over cliff and pine and fountain.
Tonight,
the storm has come
to gather heavy heat
then leaves in quiet lightning
pulsing orange clouds
like a heartbeat
or something.
The reservoir is still—
you can almost hear
the sunken towns,
a fish swims through a bright red barn
as a flash illuminates the name
of the long dead farm.
Ah, time is precious, friend—
if you haven’t noticed
the mists on mountains, let me remind you
of their drifts
over cliff and pine and fountain.
—Kerri Nicole McCaffrey
This article appears in October 2016.
