This Beautiful Place

Carmel Point
by Robinson Jeffers

"The beautiful place defaced with a crop of suburban houses--

" . . . Meanwhile the image of the pristine beauty
Lives in the very grain of the granite, . . . ."

From ""The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers" (1988)
first published in 1954


The most beautiful place we ever lived was the Pacific Northwest.
Driving up the west coast highway--northern California, through Oregon, into Washington,
Destination--Seattle, and a job with Boeing.

The tall evergreens on either side, forming a lush canopy as we passed through,
We'd dropped our friend outside San Bernadino, letting her find her own way to home and job.
We made it through Snoqualmie Pass, then dropping down toward the huge city.

The most beautiful city I'd ever seen,
Cascades on one side, Puget Sound on the other, and Lake Washington running through.
Mercer Island connected by its floating bridge--now to find a place to live.

First home on Mercer Island, an apartment overlooking the water,
the small shopping center and popular nightspot close by,
"The Islander," fun place for my pool-playing husband, and dark beer with our new friends.

Mercer Island was also where the rich people lived,
with their seaplanes and sailboats and big yachts parked on the water beside their homes.
No little fishing boats to be found. What had we moved into?

On a clear day we could see Mt. Rainier in the distance,
Stunning scenery everywhere we looked.
And lush gardens, with the "rhodies" and "azzies" as high as the rooftops.

And no one seemed to think there was anything odd
about all the wealth and blatant consumerism,
Water sports and mountain climbing in summer, ski slopes in the winter.

In the wintertime, the highway through the Cascades had snow higher than the Jeep top,
Poles along the way to guide the snowplows.
Oh yes, don't forget the rain--from September through May--the sound of tires on wet streets.

It was a magical city for us, beautiful beyond belief.
But a chance encounter in the library a few days ago,
the lady told me that it's different now--suffering from urban blight.

I'm glad we saw it then, in its good years, leaving happy memories.
Our first adventure as young marrieds, birthplace of our daughter.
Our first real home together--and perhaps the best of them all.