A Riverside Notebook.

Trzcinski, Kurt

A Riverside Notebook

   1.
   Stillness comes as the car motor stops
   and the river is near
   the coolness catches its breath
   and my ears strain for the tickling water

   The clear night is left behind
   and banks and rocks emerge
   and dark currents take shape
   All is asleep
   yet the water flows and
   foams, runs over rocks
   and into stillness

   2.
   Mountains tower and spruces whisper
   the mist hangs on their branches
   and water drips,
   drops seeping deep
   into the soil and rock
   moving beneath the moss
   past roots, rocks and sand
   pulled to the river

   3.
   A gentle sound and
   several rings on the surface
   Over there, a fish is hungry
   and a fly is gone

   4.
   Who is moving?
   The water or the rocks below?
   Grasses bend and sway
   shimmering green over bronze rocks
   each one a world
   for mayflies and caddis flies

   5.
   A mink runs along the bank
   between rocks, over logs
   A least sandpiper flutters away
   to a safer shore
   just out of sight
   A deer trail descends to the water
   where a doe drank
   and cool mud split her toes
   and a kingfisher chatters
   flying along trees' and water's edge
   a companion and river keeper

   6.
   There is always a bend in a river
   where the current flows faster
   on the outside
   it is watched attentively by canoeists
   and the rocky bar on the inside
   is a place for fishermen
   to stand and cast

   Here, water runs quick and deep
   with power and grace
   changing direction
   against the land