4th
A Poem Written By Tony Johansen
RIVER
You are the water in my river;
The water that springs from the ground, fills my banks,
That flows through every terrain that I go through,
From mountains steep and rocky to plains
Wide and smooth where I meander to the ocean of my world.
I am sometimes the leaf that floats upon your current;
At times the reflection of sky on your surface - at times
The wetness that caresses the skin of the swimmer,
Or the taste of liquid on the tongue of the animal
That finds a peaceful place in the forest to drink in life.
You are the mountain pool clear and crystal-like
Within which I see the rainbow trout;
The pebbles ochre and red and blue and gold,
Scattered in an artist’s palette on the bottom;
Like jewels in a wondrous pirates chest.
You have the power to move my boulders
And rush and crush and flood my days
Your silt laden water fertilizes my plains
And allows the crops of my days to flourish:
My life is life because of your nourishment.
You are the muddy waters wide and strong and everlasting
That carries the ships that go from place to place
And find the waterways are highways to their worlds.
They trade the fruits of human ingenuity destined
For those who need your gifts that move the world.
Your waters are the product of the rain that soaks into the soil;
You are the cycle that moves from sea to cloud to rain to river to sea,
The cycle that all life needs to live and grow, but especially me.
I feel your current through my heart that plants and waters,
Its seeds of artistry within my otherwise dry and barren earth.
- Tony Johansen