A Conversation

A young river called out to an ancient one,

Gurgling, glowing, gushing with excitement,

“Tai!” she said in a clear voice sweet as a song,

“The humans have begun their settlement!”

“Their children will play with my flourishing fish,

Pots of my cool water will the women hold,

I’ll be the men’s respite from the harsh heat of the sun,

And the love I give, I’ll get back tenfold.”

“Beware, child,” said one river to the too- trusting other,

In a voice grave with the horror of experience,

“They will overuse your water and color it polluted,

They will deform and defile your banks to further their existence.”

Yet the young river, innocent and brimming with love, could not hold it back from the humans she adored.

Years later, the young river called out again to the ancient one,

Her poison filled stream making hoarse her voice,

“Tai” she said, sluggish, weaker than before,

“Guide me for I must make a choice”

“The humans that inhabit the banks I separate,

Fight over me with tricks and force,

And I, harbinger of love and quencher of thirst,

Cannot for the favor of one,let the other divorce.”

“Choose neither,” said one river to the naive and innocent other,

Her own hoarse voice shrill with the fear of history’s repetition,

“Both will build structures to weaken your life’s essence,

Both will paint you red to win their petty competition.”

Yet the young river, overflowing with love for the humans who mistreated her, could not hold back to preserve her existence.

One day, still years later, the young river called to the ancient one,

Man- made exploiting equipment making frail her once-lively being,

“Tai” she croaked, spent, in a contamination clogged voice,

“Help me for I fear that I am dying”

“Fools, brutes, blindly selfish humans!” called out the old river angrily to the exploiters,

“Could you not come together to save the river that was once aglow?

Alas, no, for the din of your brutal bickering,

Drowned out the begging cries of the one who loved you so.”