Together we hear the waterfall
like thunder in the distance;
rapid after rapid
the spills and breaks
have worn thin our gear,
our determination.
We carry an image in our hearts
of a green valley beyond the precipice
yet the fear of what approaches
runs through our nerves like water.
We cannot reverse; the river calms
opening a space to recover,
to gather what we need inside.
We look to each other with a smile,
a joy that can only be human;
we won’t turn back
the river is guiding us.
Eek eek eek
2012
Giants in the land
Economic failures
Eek eek eek
Toxicity all ’round
Earth changes
The future
SHUT
UP!
I am the space to recover
then to go on
Take your tar babies elsewhere
They bore me
I love river poems of every ilk; they cam and steady me with their mysterious onward rush from the watershed to the sea.
The grammatical error of “shift in person” (see rule #2 on this website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/595/01/) is a bit unsettling as I don’t know whether to connect with the narrator “I” or some more amorphous “we,” but overall I love the irreversible rush against our nerves–biological disaster, perhaps, but also just that sense of “tempest fugit.” Then, as a dismount, the sense that the river itself is a guiding force–I love that…
Thanks Sandy. The grammatical catch was very helpful. I changed the first person opening to third person and left the remainder. Much appreciated!
I love finding out all the divergent styles of Dec 21,2012 mayan prophecy, I believe one superb realization that has come of all of this, even if nothing takes place is that it has opened our minds to the possibility that we may not be here forever and that we need to treasure the lifespan we have.