Joan Maiers

Walking Tour at Maryhill Museum

—Queen Marie of Romania visits Sam Hill
   in the 1920s, at Maryhill, Washington

Centuries after the Columbia
carved a gorge through basalt,
I tour the region
where native artists inscribed a face
high above choppy waters,
She-who-watches.
Every item you admire encased
in this exhibit’s walnut cabinets
carries its own story.
You can browse my notebooks
where the brown ink seeps
my talent for design.
I look to the Irish for a braid
motif I stamp on everything
from thrones to cuticle cases.
I cannot wait for history to name me
the Warrior Queen. I confer it
upon myself.
My presence confronts this building’s architect,
a man with pride so far reaching
he fills his basement garage
with dozens of cars,
leaves orders for his coffin to stand
upright on the river promonotory
like a Pierce Arrow hood ornament.

Joan Maiers works with writers of all ages. Serving on the boards of the Clackamas County Cultural Coalition and the Friends of William Stafford, as well as for a national peace and justice coalition, energizes her writing muse.