I am as a river
I am as a river drawn inescapably to the sea
my tributaries are tangents
to my flowing path
fueling my growth
forging my direction.
In my urgent infancy I am
a tear of watershed
a drop of virgin snowmelt
a trickle from the spring
I am a child of genesis.
Baptized by my creator
I am chosen to go forth
to find my own way
within the irresistible force
of perpetual motion.
Gurgling at great heights
I run rivulets in youthful exuberance
carving a notch of identity
along lines of least resistance
across unfamiliar hallowed ground.
Rushing in rapids of rolling rocks
I can slide off a cliff and freefall
into a boiling pot of adolescent energy
painting rainbows in the mist
talking in music, whispering magic.
As yet I am pure as crystal
my soul is clean, my heart is clear
untainted by the silt of passage
uncluttered by the baggage of man
free chasing, wild unchained.
Yet to fall from high places
comes a grounding to maturity
a spread across the plain
an erosive search for material
to swell and color my being.
Meandering now at a steady pace
I cut and shape the land about me
laden with the spoils from toil
to bank and build anew
an island in the stream.