River That Flows Both Ways

River That Flows Both Ways

Let me come with you

To learn

 

About moving, dancing and rhythm

About letting go and holding on tight

About making and filling space

 

Let me see all that you cradle in the palm 

of your hand

The bass, blue fish and crab

Bounty for the herons and bald eagles

 

Barges, planting themselves for what seems 

like eternity

Motor boats, speeding by in an instant

A lone fisher, creating her own sense of time

 

Fresh water and salt water

Mixing together

And blue sky above, forming a ladder to the 

heavens

 

River That Flows Both Ways

Show me how you ebb at one moment 

And in the next, turn towards high tide 

Your length and breadth and longevity

Constantly changing and yet always the same

Source of life for some and a final resting place 

for others

 

Your calm and quiet

Your motion and commotion

The simplicity and grandeur you exude at the 

same time 

 

You bridge worlds and waters

Making the impossible seem possible once again

With your offer of a welcome home

 

River That Flows Both Ways

Teacher and Wise One

Great Water in Constant Motion

 

Thank you

 

For the gesture and the reminder—

When we simply are and do not unthinkingly do

When we embrace and do not fight against

When we decide to truly see rather than look away

Then we are choosing life and love and connection

Then we are re-creating and returning to the primal

peace and to the life-giving waters that reside 

within each of us    

Rachel Landsberg
New York City, New York, USA


Last modified: 2022-12-25 10:17:04+00