roll on

basaltic palisades hem waters in
Columbia traverses the Palouse
a dry state's fever-dream of sapphire gin
illuminating cities with its juice
mere yards away, high desert's all around
no drop's distracted from the distant sea
blue garter cinched around a  world of brown
where water's scant but solar comes for free
while Portland dreams of such a sunny day
in John Day, all the leaves are Pleistocene
a landscape all composed in brown and grey
strains to remember  vistas painted green
from Great White North to hipsters, high to low
the ever-changing river's waters flow