The Stunning Niagara Falls

Commended Entry: "The Stunning Niagara Falls" by Aasfa Joarder from the USA

This poem was submitted in the Kids World Travel Guide Writing Competition 2026 in the Senior Category.

The Stunning Niagara Falls

The wind is blowing in my hair,
Swishing it around as the mist covers my face.
The currents of the Niagara Falls
falling over the Mighty cliffs it rests on.

Looking past the crowds of people
coming to this magnificent site,
The true beauty of the falls is evident.

It is a magical experience,
To see a sight,
So expansive,
And beautiful.

As I arrived at the top,
I could oversee,
The mighty falls gliding down the cliffs,
Meeting each other where lake Erie meets lake Ontario,
Fusing into the Niagara River.

I had never been somewhere
the water runs so free,
Before I had only seen,
Lazy lakes and placid rivers.

However, looking at the falls,
I knew I had found a place
that would stay with me forever.

Living in the moment,
I could feel the water against my hands,
I could smell the scent of a lake,
And of trees and forest-like terrain.

The magnificent blend of White, Blue, and Gray,
From the skies to the earth.

The noises of currents rushing to get to the bottom,
Sculpting the rocks it rests on.

Then, after a couple of minutes of staring at the water,
The blue sky disappears,
Leaving me confused.

Back in Pennsylvania,
Rain would always be written on the forecast.

However, the rapid condensation of the water
had led to clouds so low,
It hung above our heads ominously,
Waiting,
To release the rain it held in.

The fog made things hard to see,
And sure enough, the rain came down at full speed.

I held my palm out,
To feel the rain,
Pitter-Pattering against my outstretched palm,
Showing no signs of stopping.

However,
It succumbed after some time,
Leaving the sky clear again.
For me to enjoy.

Maybe it’s time, maybe it’s the hurriedness of my family,
But soon we were on one of the boats
I had seen earlier down below,

Drifting calmly,
Almost serenely,
Across the Niagara river

Relaxing and pointing at every sightful thing we saw,
In this case that would be everything.

It seemed as it would be placid like this forever,
Until I felt the rocking of the boat.

Then looking up I finally saw,
We were headed straight for the largest falls of all,
The Horseshoe falls.
And our boat was in course to go exactly there.

Soon enough,
The falls were atop us,
Rocking the boat,
The droplets of water falling hard,
Against the deck of the boat.

Then, in a few seconds of time,
The water and air started to form a rainbow,
Right there,
On the tips of my shoes.

I laughed joyously,
Blinking as the mist wets my raincoat,
Barely protecting me from getting wet.

Usually I would not be happy
finding my clothes were soaked,
But the ethereal experience of the falls
had led me to not care,

To live in the moment,
And enjoy the fullness of the falls like no other.

Some time after,
The magnificent journey of the falls had ended,
But I didn’t mind,

Because I felt happier than I had ever been
the entire 11 years of life I had lived.

I had also learned from my experience,
The falls didn’t just teach me to live in the moment,
It helped me experience nature to the fullest.

And I hope to visit there one more time,
To feel the exhilarating experience of the falls,
Once again.

Congratulations on your enthusiastic story, Aasfa! This is such wonderful work, capturing your memories in a poem! We hope our layout has done justice to your poem! Well done and Thank you for sharing your lovely work with us!

Aasfa, 12 years, attends Paxon Hollow Middle School in the USA. English as First Language. Other Home Language is Bengali