To listen to an audio recital of the poem, click here
Straight from the mountain
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.
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Copyright © 2014 David Prashker
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The Argaman Press
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