Thank you very much, Chris. Your words are very kind.

As you know the Cascades and Puget Sound, you know topographies! And water, and mountains, and change.

As I've written to another commenter, the genesis of this poem sprang from two sources, the long love I have for my ex-wife, with whom I'm still close, and the earth changing effects of Hurricane Helene that we experienced in Asheville NC last fall. Once the general idea was born, the poem was "easy" to write and more about revising than creating.

Thanks for reading and responding, my friend. I appreciate you.