Dreamy River

Dreamy river, which way you flow concealed,
Indiscernible with the stillness of the air,
And ripples chased by the lightest breath of breeze
Belie your intent.  Only below, beneath
Your quiet surface, is your true course revealed.

Far away, on a distant mountain crest
Or sage covered prairie, your birthplace where
A single drop of rain finds its destiny,
A drip, a puddle, a trickle, a stream exploring
Each hollow and crevice, seeking unattainable rest.

Disdaining decorous shape, your surging swell
Grows, rising, strengthening, rushing, supplements
Of each gully and ravine quickening
The current to marauding pitch, undeniable,
Unyielding, nimbly accommodating each travail.

Your torrent plummets in cascades where boulders impede
Orderly passage, here quickly, there slowly, each spilllway
And eddy swirling and gushing in anguished impatience,
Single-mindedly driven, plunging in headlong
Pursuit to satisfy an ocean's insatiable need.

Dreamy river, your tumultuous race to the sea
Now adjourned, your waters, deep and settled, have earned
This peace. Rest by my shore and warm your body.
The glistening sheen of your placid surface sparkles
Where your seminal raindrop smiles - and winks at me.

                                              rlkilgore