MEMORIES OF YOUTH, THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

I remember the Rockies when I was a kid
which surrounded BC in massive grids
Upwards upwards every foot a new sight
On to the peaks lost among clouds of white

Rocky and tumbled with hard black granite 
Trees on slopes growing in dark green palettes
One could stand on the Great Divide impressed 
Splitting the Canadian  roof to the east and west

Waters in the east heading north to the Arctic
With western flows plunging down to the Pacific
Valleys between ranges holding fruits and gardens
And dry vistas heading north with the grasses and sages

Long lakes in the centre sparkling like fountains
Farms on their shores rising up the steep mountains
Glaciers retreating in the northern valleys
Cold waters flowing down in rushing alleys 

Ghost towns and mines long since abandoned 
Harbouring burnouts left from riches demanded
Giant trees and lakes and oceans surrounding
Farming and fishing and lumbering and mining 

Giant mountains in BC’s tranquility abounding
Protected by oceans the surf ever pounding
Ferries and ships and trade ever expanding
British Columbia is there in western Canada anchoring