The River of Longing

and all the things
I didn't do for you,
all the things
I couldn't do for you,
stay with me
like unsaid goodbyes
across the far banks
of a flowing river
that never rests,
but only grows
in its fervent longing
for everything that is you.

Stepping into the same river, twice.

every time I see a river
I catch it with my eyes,
I stop the flow,
or follow its course,
or dip my feet in
every once in a while;

and then I wonder
how it feels
to let the oft-held image go,
of not really stepping
into the same river
every time I watch it flow;

the meanders change
the reeds rise and fall,
ripples skid over smoothed stones;
and even as the water flows on
it has left itself behind
in the essence it shares and holds;

and then I see
what I could not see before
with my half-opened eyes,
for what I see with an open heart
is how I step into
the very same river, twice.

Stillness Sits By the River

Stillness -
she sits
by the river,
her eyes
they flow
across ripples
stretched
into eternity;
they cavort upon
brusque rapids,
and pebbles
sanded
by serendipity;
her eyes
they dance
with river weeds
that airbrush
wind and water,
while thoughts
unfurl
to rest upon
the magic
in a drop
of rainbow water.

On a Boat to Nowhere...

On a boat
to nowhere....
slithering into
smelted silver
and inky waters,
a black and white
polka-dotted sky
looks down at me
with a million eyes;
long shadows grow,
merge and then disappear,
like strutting models
on an endless ramp,
the radiant moon
swallows my melancholy
in one large swoop
of her ever-open heart,
waves lap relentlessly
against my naked form,
caressing me softly, gently,
into a flowing trance;
I can hear the clouds gather
over the warm, distant seas,
I can hear the still wind blow
through the dancing river weeds,
I can hear my breath flow in
and out to the all-embracing sky,
I can hear my little heart quieten,
to the song of silence, without a try;
I am on a boat
to nowhere in particular,
no oars, no companion,
no thoughts to get me over;
no dreams, no hopes to hold on to,
no fears, no letting go,
just to be, to flow, to wander,
as I travel alone in this dark river.

A River Without a Name

I feel the deep rumblings
and gentle splashes
somewhere deep inside,
a river is born
without a name,
it's got nothing left to hide;
a seeking, a longing,
a cleansing, a flowing -
colours of a changing course,
a trickle from a fountain
is enough to quench
the thirst of a weary traveller,
who travels not to seek, but to love.

Sacred River of Life

I come to you

as a child to her mother -

holding on to

a far away memory

of a safe womb -

the place of sacred rest;

standing beside you,

I can now look up

at the raging sun

with moist love;

I bend down

to hold and lift you

in my cupped palms

just as you held me

with your divine grace;

and then let you go 

with moist love 

and a silent prayer -

back to the source

of all that is;

rose petals and clay lamps,

my humble offerings,

afloat in your bosom,

with gratitude and love.

 

The Story of a River

a water drop
on a cloud in the sky
doesn't think about
where it is going,
or why it is floating;
it just floats.

a trickle of water
high on a mountain,
doesn't think about
where it is going,
or why it is flowing;
it just flows.

a waterfall pouring itself
into a deep gorge,
doesn't think about
where it is falling,
or why it is gushing;
it just falls.

a river meandering along
vast open plains,
doesn't think about
where it is going,
or why it is wandering;
it just changes course.

this river once was
a drop of water in a cloud in the sky,
a trickle on a mountain up high,
a waterfall plunging into a chasm,
and now a mighty river,
finding its way to the ocean.

the water drop did not worry
about becoming a trickle,
the trickle did not worry
about becoming the waterfall,
the waterfall did not worry
about becoming a river;
the river did not worry
about meeting the vast ocean.

each expressed itself,
each celebrated itself,
each lived its life,
with no hopes, no desires,
but to fulfill itself -
an endless story
of a love for life,
to enjoy the ride
in the river of life!