Archive for the ‘Middle Oconee River’ Category

Above: The Original Draft
Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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This afternoon I did notice
close to home, in Ben Burton Park,
Easter Island-style statues
small. Four of them did space mark
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on the cusps of waterfalls
tiny in the midst of a stream.
Somebody had stacked rocks small
in a fit of joy, it seems,
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conveying his or her mirth
to other park visitors
who came to enjoy the earth,
perhaps even to compose verse.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 23, 2014 COMMON ERA

Above: The Beginning of My Draft
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On a late October day,
in Athens-Clarke County,
Georgia, turtles did, I say,
sun themselves quite nicely
—–
on rocks in the Middle Oconee River.
Some of them, upon noticing the presence
of interested human observers
on the land, dove into the river, hence
—-
leaving empty, large rocks behind.
Others, however, remained where they were
and continued to absorb heat so kind
on a cool day with a brrr.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 25, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above: View Looking Down the Tailrace from the West Side of the Powerhouse–Tallassee Shoals Hydroelectric Facility, Middle Oconee River, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia
Photograph Created by the Historic American Engineering Record
Image Source = Library of Congress
(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ga0489.photos.056253p/resource/)
Reproduction Number = HAER GA,30-ATH.V,1–1
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That plant, according to the plaque in Ben Burton Park (the current use for the site) closed in 1964, having been in operation since 1896.–KRT
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In the Middle Oconee River,
closer to its normal state,
with many of its large rocks above water
(at least partially),
a small group of turtles sunned themselves
on two rocks as water cascaded
near them, flowing gloriously
in its river bed through Athens-Clarke County
then into the Oconee River proper,
through the County of Greene
and toward its ultimate fate,
the Atlantic Ocean.
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But, here and now, it is fun
to watch the water flow quickly
as turtles rest above it then reenter it unaided,
going where they will during their turtle lives,
perhaps oblivious to we humans observing them
from the bank, just glad to see them at a distance
as we enjoy nature quietly,
seeking nothing in return,
but revering, each in our turn,
that which is free,
yet beyond price.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 24, 2013 COMMON ERA
On a rock in the Middle Oconee River
on a warm evening,
on a day when one does not shiver,
a lone turtle stood.
—–
There it remained,
for how long I do not know,
until it returned to the water,
its head below
the surface.
—–
Why did the turtle move?
Did it see us watching it from the land?
Or did it have another reason?
I want to understand.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 30, 2013 COMMON ERA
Small green leaves
rest upon bedrock
as a creek flows gently and barely
over it en route to
the river quite near by,
just a few yards away,
where the journey does cease.
—–
The creek water is clear,
unlike the brown river
swollen by rains
which, without any pains,
have turned it from a relative sliver
with many exposed rocks,
often with turtles sunning on them,
into this roaring brown torrent
falling over and obscuring the bedrock.
—–
Yet now I notice joyfully
a plethora of trees doing what I suppose
they have done more often than not:
Drinking deeply of the river
as it feeds their roots which have grown
low to the water.
These trees imbibe the water of life.
And I, staring at them,
do, for a time,
forget that anywhere there is strife.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 23, 2013 COMMON ERA
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https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/swollen-river/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/swollen-river-ii/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/swollen-river-iii-one-week-later/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/swollen-river-iv/
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The Middle Oconee River,
fed by recent rains,
thunders and gurgles simultaneously,
rolling over rocks,
foaming whitely
while appearing brown
as it flows through Athens,
through the west end of town.
—–
As I study the river
on a late Spring evening
which feels like one in the Summer,
the darkness encroaching
in the dying light of the day,
I look for rocks
(yet discover that they are mostly underwater)
and for turtles, but see none
in the fading light of the May sun.
I furrow my brow
and I wonder
where they are turtling now.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 22, 2013 COMMON ERA
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https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/swollen-river/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/swollen-river-ii/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/swollen-river-iii-one-week-later/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/swollen-river-v/
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Just north of Ben Burton Park,
next to a beaten path, and
beside the Middle Oconee River,
a group of trees grows from a common root system.
Some grow straight up,
toward the sky.
One grows along the ground,
down the river bank,
to drink from the river.
Another tree to the earth is bound,
forming an arch
then growing up from the surface again.
As I rank
trees in order of interest to me,
those two latter trees,
more than some others I have seen,
fascinate me more keenly.
So to them I want to march
day after day,
from their asymmetry
spiritually to sup.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 14, 2013 COMMON ERA
The Middle Oconee River,
down from last week
yet still higher than usual,
cascades over large rocks
as other rocks lay exposed to the afternoon sun
and others from the river slightly peek
out. Turtles sun themselves
on rocks exposed
and those
with just a thin veneer of water
to cover them.
Birds occupy the river also,
not going to and fro.
I wonder if the birds and turtles
are having fun.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 14, 2013 COMMON ERA
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https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/swollen-river/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/swollen-river-ii/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/swollen-river-iv/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/swollen-river-v/
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The river, swollen further by more rain,
has invaded and occupied Ben Burton Park,
inundating low-lying areas,
surrounding three picnic tables and a bench,
and watering trees,
once by the water,
now in it, copiously,
and roaring over rocks in its standard bed.
I notice birds perching above the opposite bank
and flying over the river.
The rocks on which turtles have sunned themselves
are submerged; where the turtles are now
I cannot ascertain.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 6, 2013 COMMON ERA
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https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/swollen-river/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/swollen-river-iii-one-week-later/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/swollen-river-iv/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/swollen-river-v/
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The river and the creeks that feed it,
swollen and brown after recent rains,
flood trails,
envelop tree bases,
and flow in some areas
which are usually dry.
I walk on muddy trails
(for I cannot fly)
as I admire nature’s scenery,
listen to the sounds of water,
observe small waterfalls,
and notice many minute details
near to where run the trains.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 5, 2013 COMMON ERA
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https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/swollen-river-ii/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/swollen-river-iii-one-week-later/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/swollen-river-iv/
https://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/swollen-river-v/
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