Post by AquarianM on Mar 24, 2011 at 11:13pm
This River I Run...
There's a place I come from,
That little Midwestern town by the river,
I can never escape it's call,
No matter how far I go,
Trees green,
Water near the same,
Limestone and dams,
The festivals of summer,
A glimpse of peace crosses my face as afternoon sunshine,
As the boat cruises down the Rock,
I feel at home,
Where I know in my bones,
This place has never left my blood,
In spite of pains,
In spite of travels,
In spite of gains,
This river I run is at the root of me,
These banks hallowed ground,
My childhood screams it's name,
My family's fate has long been surrounded by it,
The seeming languid waters deceptive in their power,
My grandmother and grandfather,
Mother and father,
Brothers, sisters,
Cousins, aunts, uncles,
Near all have watched this water run by,
And timeless times I remember,
As lives flow slowly by,
Their seeming languid pace deceptive in their power,
And I thank God for moments most would call me fool for,
To cherish this small, unknown, struggling town,
This place so often ridiculed,
But as they often say here,
Beloit Wisconsin calls you,
One can leave,
But in some fashion,
Everyone winds up coming back,
Even if just in memory of times loved or hated.
Happy as I am,
I miss the river I run.
AquarianM
By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 07/16/2001
Author's Comments
This
was driven home to me yesterday. I returned for the annual Riverfest, a
small-town affair. My wife and I were out on my brother's boat with him
and his wife, and even as my wife shudders at the smallness of this
place, my sense of home screams at me in every familiar sight. Places
where I cut my foot running as a barefoot child, the spot where my Noni
& Nono lie in eternal slumber, where my brothers & father still
call home. Places where summer was God's greatest gift and spring a
blessed miracle. Yes, it's small there, but in some ways, I just can
never leave.
Words are the mind's bridge - it's connection to the universe.
Love is the heart's bridge - it's connection to all other souls.
Loving words can work miracles.
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All of my published poetry is at:
www.lulu.com/spotlight/coloringbookforallages
