Pete's Pool (1997)
by Betty Brown 
of Enumclaw, Washington

See video of Betty Brown reciting her poem.


One man with gumption, had a dream. 
A swimming hole for kids.

He bought some land. The children came, 
began to dig with shovels

And neighbors, strangers, friends - they 
came with some machines and people-power

and dug a deep catch-basin 
for Boyne Creek's icy waters.

Then everybody came to swim, 
to picnic, and to socialize.

Now only memories remain 
of Pete's Pool, where it used to be.

They fill the air and drape the trees, 
and children hear their stories.

These living trees stand witness 
to all the things that happened here -

a time of peace and civic pride - 
a shining moment of togetherness.

Betty Brown was a member of the Plateau
Poetry Connection.
She passed away in 2002.

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