Featured Submissions - Chattahoochee River Scene

River Scene by Andy Funderbunk

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The Chattahoochee

written by Gabriele Osterburg Azhar

Out of the dense undergrowth a trickle emerges at Jack’s Gap

in the majestic Blue Ridge mountains of north Georgia,

gaining power and dimension in its aspect as it makes its way

for over 400 miles to mingle with the waters of the Gulf of Mexico,

its tributaries bearing names like Aneewakee, Bear, and Tuggle.

It wends its way through Georgia, Alabama, and Florida

forming part of the borders of these states

nourishing people and crops along the way

powering machines for textiles as our young country grew and prospered.

Providing succor to indigenous peoples as far back as 1,000 years,

in places, its wild, pristine shoreline

evoking images of Indian braves casting off in a canoe

red bodies gleaming in the sun, feathered headbands stirring in the breeze.

Chattahoochee—Thundering water tumbling from its falls

its perilous eddies claiming more than one unsuspecting soul

Chattahoochee – “Rocks-marked,” “painted rocks”

denoting the colorful granite outcroppings along its banks

Chattahoochee – “Hooch” – a popular Georgia nickname

Immortalized in song by Alan Jackson and Ludicras

Home to me for over 60 years,

its waters powered Muscogee Mills where I held my first job.

Now a parking garage to accommodate high-tech industry

has replaced the long-gone cotton mill.

Today, hopeful fishermen still line the banks on summer mornings.

White water rafters shout their delight above the roar of churning water.

Young families stroll its Riverwalk, competing with rollerbladers and cyclists

for 15 miles and more.

But Sidney Lanier said it much better than I ever could.

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