Breath of the River

You're privy to the secrets 

she's carried since her birth

those everlasting stories

of men who worked the earth.

You hear her murmuring sallies 

the ripples of her soul 

like the crying of an infant

as the distant church bells toll.

You've seen her winter tantrums 

heard her laughter in the spring

 enjoyed her summer laziness

 but autumn's everything.

 Golden clouds ride her eddies

 and there's yellow on the foam 

while copper tints the backwater

 her bosom bears them home.

You've watched her race the shallows 

where her pebble bed doth shine 

you've viewed her sparkling birth place 

and watched her join the brine. 

You've been there by the mill pond 

where the weeping willows fall 

and watched the old wheel turning 

as the otters wildly call. 

You've shared her with the wild things 

enjoyed her eternal song 

dangled your toes at midnight 

cavorted all day long. 

She nursed you through your childhood 

she welcomed you in age 

gave smiles and memories gladly 

wrote her name across your page. 

Today you stand beside her

watch the mist rise o'er her brow

and think of all that you have seen

between the then and now.

All the places you have traveled

all the people you have met

but if there's anything quite like her

you haven't found it yet.

The woodland and the river

both hold your heart in keep

they influence your waking

they smile upon your sleep.