As the River Flows

From where I stand

I can see the way it flows and curves

hugging the banks on either side

rumbles over rocks and boulders

into a foamy white chaos that breaks branches and logs and

bones

before it eventually smooths out once more

surface barely rippling

so clear you can see the bed far below as if it were just an

inch deep

fish swimming down and

up

stream and hiding

in the roots of things that once grew

that now rots as things grow upon it

I can see where it widens

full of promise and

where it slips down into a

trickle

so small it is in danger of being swallowed

whole

by the parched earth until

rain

falls from the sky like a

savior

replenishing its soul

From where I stand

it is all behind me

not before

I can see it grow longer with each taken

step

like the shadow growing from my feet

I face unknown terrain

not yet broken down by the

erosion

we cannot control but will one day map the history of

where we have been

how we have lived.