CONNOQUENESSING CREEK Two days after my father died, somewhere in Center Township, we pulled off the interstate to get closer to the waterway whose name for years I held between my teeth like a wrist, like a prayer. Connoquenessing means for a long way straight . The creek twists and curls and crawls from the Beaver River through the Oneida Valley Reservoir then back to the Beaver River some fifty-seven miles later. Train tracks hemmed the creek where we stood, a nest of rusted railroad spikes at our feet. Connoquenessing means for a long way straight. The current flowed without shame. Cars passed over the nearby bridge. The late afternoon light hung hazy and thick, a chiffon shroud. I bent down to touch the water as one always must. The shock of the cold didn’t shock me so much. In the water I felt nothing. I stepped back defeated. Connoquenessing means for a long way straight . How often does mee...
Like the title says.