Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Monday, May 12, 2008

For Lovers Of Rivers



A girl falls in love with a river.

"I love your voice," says the girl,

"And the places you have been.

When I kiss you, I feel those places flow into me, too."


The girl falls in love in the summer,

When the river caresses her body in the most marvelous ways,

Singing low to her and holding her within itself.


The girl feels protected, even as she feels vulnerable to the river

In its vast reach, its depth, its agelessness.

It seems to her that the sun itself lives reflected in her lover's face

And so too, the stars in the night time.


In autumn, the river's touch turns bracing;

More so with the passage of time,

Until the girl takes to sitting on the bank,

Close by her lover's side--

Watching,

As even the trees shower gifts upon her love,

Trifles red and gold--

Which the river carries for a moment,

But never means to hold.


In winter, the girl shivers,

Her love still beautiful in stark black and white.


The river has nonetheless, and to her intense distress,

Grown impenetrable;

She searches its face with fingers numb and blue--

And the heartless river, so changed,

Gives her nothing in return except her own reflected face

Sad and abandoned,

Whispering, "River, I love you still,

Though you are cruel

And though my love no longer moves you."


A girl falls in love with a river,

With its face and the voice she hears--

By spring she is part of the river

Running high with a million tears.

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7 comments:

  1. Stunning, such a heartbreaking
    beauty to the words the thoughts
    in your poem, a woman so connected
    to the earth, with an undying love.

    Jeez, you are right about these
    loopy letters, this is my third
    shot a word verification.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I always love to receive comments from you, Cynthia. You know,I actually got this one published. I had sent it in ages ago and quite forgotten about it, and then when I read it again I thought, well now, it is pretty good. I'm glad you liked it. I think that, so often as women we will keep on loving even when there is nothing coming back.

    And yes, those jumble letters to foil the spammers also foil me as often as not. Sometimes they can be very hard to make out.

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  3. unrequited love is a bitch, no?
    "running high with a million tears"
    beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you, Ozy. Nice to see you here!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you, Sharkbutt. Welcome to my little domain!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great ending, crying herself into being part of the river.

    I love this section:
    "Close by her lover's side--
    Watching,
    As even the trees shower gifts upon her love,
    Trifles red and gold--
    Which the river carries for a moment,
    But never means to hold."

    Also that the girl says "I love your voice" to the river in the beginning. Beautiful and heartbreaking.

    ReplyDelete

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