A BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE WORK APPEARING IN THE NOTRE DAME REVIEW: I became acquainted with the superb fiction of William Hoffman, a novelist and short-story writer, and was so impressed with his work--especially God Fires, a marvelous novel--that I sent him a letter. This initiated a long-time correspondence, which has been one of the true highlights of my letter-writing life. In one missive, Bill told me about his great-grandfather and how he'd worked as a miner. A few of the details struck me so sharply that some version of the phrase, "And never knew/The waters in a river could run blue" popped into my head. From that moment, I resolved to write a poem for Bill, based on his comments. I showed the piece to him when completed, and he told me I'd rendered the scene well. Such a compliment from such a fine writer has meant a lot to me.