THE RIVER

I am again in that river valley

If only in my spirit soul.

The call of the river is so irresistible

I have felt it in my bones all of my life.

The river seems to flow through my very soul.

Here, feel the smooth silkiness of its flow.

Deep pools, shallow draws and swift running ways

Reflecting a glorious sky, moon and stars.

All of its hillside borders covered with leaves.

Hidden from all but my fellow river lovers

Are glorious flowers and tasty plants to eat.

Blueberry, bleeding hearts, violets, apple blossoms and

May flowers, dandelions, Indian pinks, daffodils.

So many flowers, I can’t name them all, but there

In deeply hidden glens, grow spearmint and peppermint.

I scent the air as the leaves are crushed.

Take me back, oh, my soul to that river course.

Let me once again regain the sheer ecstasy

Of a youth, long since lost in utter foolishness.

Once more, let me stand on the shores and

Smell the heaven-sent perfume of my river way.

Nightfall seemed to accentuate the spell of music–

The evening train going somewhere west at dusk

Sounded its whistle with such a lonesome wail

It seemed to beckon me to go along to faraway places.

Downstream, the Bessemer furnace lit up the skies

In a fiery orange-red flame every hour

As it cleared its throat with a storm of air.

And when the Dixie Belle played its calliope,

The music bounded from hilltop to hilltop

With such glorious musical tones

It made me feel transported to distant cities.

And nothing could be better than a moonlit swim,

Drifting with the slow-moving river current,

And the love spoken back and forth in boats

Oared by star-smitten young lovers being close.

That’s all so far away now I can only

Picture it in my restless dreams after midnight.