There is a sense of loss when looking at the collapsed
There is a sense of mortality, knowing nothing will last.
It is a lesson that we learn each day of our lives
One we actively forget or against which we strive
Denying the inevitable in the wake of today
Knowing that time will win in its own way.
What we do not destroy on our own
Nature can easy claim all alone.
Years to create and years more to marvel
Yet in the blink of an eye it appears to unravel.
How can it be that so much will be lost?
For all of us it is the ultimate cost.
Yet the lesson to learn is not what will be
But to constantly work a new future to see.
The crumbling and decayed can again be raised
Or make way for rebuilding something worthy of new praise.
For nothing that’s done should be forgot
Nor anything remembered as something it was not.
Things are no more and no less than what they are
Each a beautiful beacon, its own shining star.
Remember them well and learn what you will
Knowing later your work will inspire a similar thought and feel.

It is easy to think that today is the greatest height of human ingenuity
Until you spend time watching marvels hundreds of years old
And realize that humans have always found a way
To accomplish the impossible, with ideas that are ingenious and bold.

Take some time to watch the wonders of a lock
And you will soon find that the wonder is still fresh
That man has been able to control water to not only move boats upstream
But to find a way uneven waterways to mesh.

Using the ideas of stairs to move boats from below
Through hard work and care man proved it could be done
An honest victory once they thought beyond pessimism and tradition
With pride and determination new heights could be won.

Watching the work in progress as the watery stairs help boats ascend
Watching the men with the knowledge to control water with devices
Watching as the barge was buoyed higher than before
Learning that technology is won by bits and by slices.

For what we have today came from ideas of the past,
Reaching into the future to remind us nothing is out of reach
It is all in our minds that things can’t be done.
Watch the impossible at a lock sometime, it has a remarkable lesson to teach.

It is so easy to get lost as we marvel our own work
Forgetting that all that we do is inspired by what nature has provided.
It is best to occasionally stop and pay attention to all things around
To notice the natural that caused such works to be inspired.

Nothing is as poignant as pictures to pointing out narrow perception.
Returning again and again to catch a glimpse at everything that is there
Eyes roaming over the landscape frozen in time
Occasionally stopping to examine with a long steady stare.

Look passed the concrete and brick so carefully laid
And see all the things that silently call from the background
Humming a tune of the things that were before and will last long after
It is all there, giving life to the object, all those thing that it surround.

A sign and a bridge that mark the marvel of man
May be the focus and pull of all thought
But it is the world of nature that stands out
Reminding us all of what time may have forgot.

Once nothing was there, and likely time will return it to the Earth.
Long after that, nature will stand steady and tall
Watching the world in silent cogitation
Unless we are ready to forever rebuild whenever structures to time do fall.

A remarkable dream of a well-grounded man in time
Brought into being through sheer determination and will
A marvel of man and the drive he could so deeply feel.
Of mind over matter it was taken as a sure sign.

However not immune to time’s perpetual motion,
Or the ravages of war or a flood’s quick destruction.
To bolster the dream the structure needed new construction
A different kind of constant love and tender devotion.

Once complete there was a hearty celebration of praise
To those who dared to dream and those who kept the dream alive
A unifying force that sought to help the past survive
To a future they knew not, but feared not faces to raise.

A rebuilding that has been repeated along the way
Moving the past into the future day by lovely day.

Man can do much when he really has the mind
Of this history has shown often and with lasting impressions.
The C&O aqueduct at Monocacy River is such a find
A structure impressive that’s lasted through wealth, war, and depressions.

A four year endeavor that consumed the attention of many
The Monocacy Aqueduct was the largest of its kind on the way
And some even say a better one in this country, you won’t find any.
This project of will was started on one very fine day.

To build the structure the men needed large granite stones
Enough to span the entire breath of the water of 516 feet.
It would stand out of the water, seven arches standing alone
Bridging the two sides so that those on either side could meet.

The cost was great and the construction was trying,
The plans well drawn and with a single goal in mind.
Any questions of doubt were not worth the effort of replying
Until finally it was done and to mark the accomplishment they erected a sign.

It hails the structure for the glory that it brought
A marvel of ingenuity amid troubles and built to last
So that children over the ages could be taught
Of more difficult times and how they too shall pass.

One of the greatest challenges of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Was finding a way to bypass the Great Falls that blocked the way.
A solution was reached over the course of time, one that might prove fatal
To those who were asked to construct a lock without delay.

The project was arduous, difficult, and a strain
One that was almost impossible to those on the outside
But determination and desire drives men to endure pain
Even when it could mean for success they would die.

The obstacle that required such dedication
Was a large falls that plunged 80 feet within the short span of a mile
Meaning no boats could pass, no matter how much determination.
That is why locks were required, but they were added with style.

The task took nearly twice as long as expected
Seventeen years passed from the time when it began
Encountering problems that planning had not detected.
At times they had to wonder if ever a working lock would e’er stand.

Five locks were to have served as the way to move boats
Raising and lowering them as they circumvented the falls.
To accomplish this black was used, billowing its blackened smoke
Taking out rocky cliffs, blasting through it all.

The passage of time has seen much at the locks since.
Children standing in awe of a barge as it passes
Serene on the water, no hint of the pain that made so many wince.
A place so different from what came before, showing pain does not last.

Every age thinks it is the pinnacle of modernity,
That their understanding of the world is superior to the last
It is this sense of achievement, a false sense of superiority
That is washed away by the images of the past.

The only thing that’s constant is that time passes on
That life continues to flourish and change
Like the flow of the Monocacy River that’s quiet and calm.
That so much can change yet stay the same is strange.

The old Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company’s aqueduct is a sight
To see on a Sunday out when you wish to repose,
The same kind of quiet generations have found in their daily plight,
Seeking a few moments of rest from what kind of trouble no one knows.

A single man on the water rowing but looking relaxed.
If you were to go today you are likely to see something quite similar.
The time and the place look the same if the clothing style you subtract.
When another 50 years pass will this time even be remembered?

Looking at the design and elegance of the aqueduct it is difficult to care.
The place will continue even as people move on and grow,
Knowing in the future others will stop to think and stare
Calmed just like we as they marvel at a time increasingly forgotten, unknown.

It is the durability and tranquility that this view has come to imbue
In the hearts and minds of those who stop to take the time.
A frantic, panicked time brought into perspective and emotions subdue.
That is the legacy of history, that is its pulse, its reason and rime.

The C&O Canal National Historical Park has an extensive history.
The canal has a history as long and complex as the United States.
Fraught with twists and turns that belie its past
The C&O Canal Towpath Trail is a trail bound to last.

The total length of this trail if over 184 miles
So if you plan to hike, you should determine your path.
It isn’t the kind of adventure you can finish in a single day
So plan to camp and have a few days with which to pay.

The full length of the trial is form Washington DC to Cumberland, Maryland
A trip of several days and several different distinct sections.
You can check out waterfalls that the canal was designed to avoid
The sights are astonishing, so you can come visit to relax if you are annoyed.

The first portion of the trail begins in DC
Following the twists and turns of the trail
You will so find yourself in the middle of the nation’s first 100 years
Trekking the paths that ancestors feared.

The second section takes across the East Coast single mountain range.
The Appalachian Trail will run across your path
Giving you an amazing view of everything around you.
From here you can choose your adventure, you choose what to do.

The third section is filled with points relevant to highlights in history.
You’ll encounter some amazing scenes
And the wildlife here goes well with the verdant trail.
It is with regret that you will finish, every sight you’ll try to remember in detail.

The final part, the fourth, is perfect for those who want another view
It gives the dedicated bikers a fantastic place to do their thing.
Given one full day you should be able to complete this part
And like the rest of the trail,  you will love it right from the start.

This amazing canal has a history nearly as old as our nation.
Thought it might seem odd, the idea started with our first President.
Following the Revolution, George Washington was full of ideas
And creating a passage was between the Great Lakes and the East coast
Was one that he pursued with a passion.

He foresaw a way of moving with greater speed
Instead of going across land, which was slow and quite dangerous,
Washington cleverly devised a way to move through the water
But it was not a project that could be undertaken lightly.
A long-term plan and determination was what the project would need.

That was why in 1785 Washington started the Potowmack Company
With the primary purpose of creating five new canals
Designed to miss waterfalls that would impede the progress of boats.
Once complete, boars and rafts could go all the way to Georgetown
Although going up river left travelers very weary.

From this venture the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was born
And around that canal many paths were made for people to trek
A marvelous place for picnics and hiking
The kind of activities that are very much enjoyed today.
The path today is well traveled and pedestrian worn.

Although our first president, George Washington put forth the idea
It was not completed in his lifetime
It wasn’t ready until 1831 was near.

In November 1830 the canal finally went public
But it was not as we know it today.
The canal was abbreviated, but it was still fantastic.

By 1834 the canal was extended all the way to Williamsport
Now one of the ends of a one of the primary sections
But they were not done with growth of this sort.

With the arrival of 1836 the route had gained in popularity
And numerous businesses used it as a great way of transportation
And engaging more workers and so there was a new decree.

Lots of trouble emerged as they worked to complete it
From disease to disaster nature seemed to be working against them
But through it all the company and crews would not quit.

The last 50 miles faced the hardest block to progress
Locks were required but stone was very tough to transport
And they nearly gave up I must confess.

The floods of 1843 proved another problem that halted work
But the company found a way to move forward
By raising the sides giving the water’s progress a tweak.

When 1850 finally rolled around
The company had been surpassed by the railroad’s progress.
The need for transportation was now less sound.

The project then ceased, no longer was the Ohio Valley the goal
But nothing came from the talks
So the C&O Canal was done, no more to unfold.