I would sing of the river
and other wilderness paths
in my heart. Always present
always passing, calling me,
leaving me love’s memories;
fleeting caresses and long
lingering closeness, of touch,
sight and scent, the intimate
sounds of people together,
and rivers, always passing,
always close. Safe in my heart,
forever present, passing.
And never that proactive in
finding, shaping identity,
I have been content to
watch it’s fluidity, to
identify with river, to
be in cascading falls,
in dying streams, flooding meadows;
to accept the tidal embrace
of the wild seas leading,
following, shaping my song.