I grew up a short walk from the Mississippi River. When I moved away, I found that beyond family and friends, the thing I missed most was being able to ride my bike along its bank, feeding the ducks and geese, staring out across the waters and skipping stones while thinking through the issues of the day. I know most people have something they cling to, even if the romance of that piece of home really doesn’t exist.
No one bathes in the river anymore.
its waters have grown dark and deep
with the sins of all those
who have lived along her shores.
But when I sit here
among the weeds and rocks,
casting my thoughts or
skipping concerns once,
twice,
three and
four times before they sink,
disappearing into the stones
that slowly move with the sands
toward the sea,
I find myself refreshed,
washed clean in the river,
these dirty waters
that birthed me.
| Copyright © 2020 by Maik Strosahl Michael E. Strosahl has focused on poetry for over twenty years, during which time he served a term as President of the Poetry Society of Indiana. He also dabbles in short fiction and may be onto some ideas for a novel. He relocated to Jefferson City, Missouri, in 2018 and currently co-hosts a writers group there. In September 2020, he started the blog “Disturbing the Pond.” |
"Immersion" is a good word for evocative poetry, and what better word for a river poem? The reader sees the dark water, and the "skipping thoughts" like flat stones, brilliant. I too love a river, the Indian River. Grew up with the smell of it in my nose, and when I made the one big move in my life, it was to another town, right on the Indian River...
ReplyDeleteI have been gone from her shores for more years than I spent by her side. It’s still the first thing I want to see when we go ‘home’.
ReplyDeleteI have been gone from her shores for more years than I spent by her side. It’s still the first thing I want to see when we go ‘home’.
ReplyDeleteAs one who now lives in a city next to the Mississippi River, this poem resonates deeply with me. I, too, have taken many bike rides and walks along its banks, casting many thoughts and concerns into the muddy, darkended waters.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!