Sunday, September 28, 2014

The River


To listen to an audio recital of the poem, click here


Straight from the mountain
downwards flows the river
strong and fresh and clear

straight towards the valley
it flows downwards
until

convinced by its own arguments
  the river
bends

Grey it flows through the grey world
  dark through these dark cities
    sheltering under rocks and bridges
      hiding beneath flowers
        seeking its refuge in the open sea

It loves its own reflections
  which make of it a pool
    for its own looking and laughing

It loves to lie down in green valleys
  to sleep and make a bed for reeds
    to dance around the saplings
      and the summer trees

It loves the dialogues of fishermen
  played out patiently and long
    To catch or not to catch
trickling its own dialogues over a duck’s back

Yet
      how
like
        a 
snake  
   it 
crawls!

These mountains are too steep
  it does not even dare or try
    to climb beyond itself
      towards these icy heights

Tell it to rise upwards - it moves not
Tell it to stop flowing - it hears not
Tell it to swim against the current - it can not

Downwards it flows
  ever downwards

straight from the mountain
downwards flows the river
strong and fresh and clear

straight into the valley
it flows downwards
until

convinced by its own arguments
  the river
bends



"The River" is published in "Welcome To My World, Selected Poems 1973-2013", The Argaman Press. Click here to purchase the book.







Copyright © 2014 David Prashker
All rights reserved
The Argaman Press

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