“The hardest part is when the river
is too swift and goes underground for days on end”~Jim Harrison from Songs of Unreason
Here,
heedless of morning light
or evening flight
of geese across
the river runs,
through history
of people who
in transitory transit
camped along its banks
when silver shad streamed,
fished for oysters and pearls
of wisdom
flowing from,
with,
to
the sea.
Rolling river
pushes and pulls
life through seasons
and time
changes
everything.
Turn, turn
around
and underground
the hidden bones
turn, turn
to dust–
ghosts walk
beside the water
dreaming of what was,
waiting for what will be.
This is for Day 14 of Jilly’s 28 Days of Unreason–poetry inspired by the poetry of Jim Harrison.
“ghosts walk / beside the water” — nice!
Thanks so much!
If the water below us could outlast us, it might curse us for what we left behind, recovering, hopefully.
Yes, I think you’re right.
And these are fine pearls of wisdom.
Thank you! 🙂
I enjoyed how the river has seen life throughout history. The descriptions of bones and ghosts makes your writing more vivid. Love the ‘pearls of wisdom.’
Thank you very much, Vivian!
🙂
The constant and the temporal dancing together. Marvelous!
Thanks so much, Jilly!
I like the way you take the idea of time flowing like a river and twist it into something slightly different.
Thank you very much, Sarah.
Very thoughtful reverie about the possible history of a river (steam of life? stream of consciousness?).
Thank you, Charley–all the streams! 🙂
You are welcome!
Many different flows!
🙂
Ghosts of the river is a wonderfully engaging concept
Thanks so much, Derrick.