BY THE RIVER

I see that it is possible to summon

a simple picture from out our existence

accompanying our soul in its journey

through this particular life.

Some image that cannot forsake itself

to the elements alone that foretell

what will be explored, while

arriving above them inclusively

to see that moment in time

when you are shown what you are

and destined to become, this lone figure

yourself, beside the curving road

made by that river’s momentary

passage through time.

Standing there at its border,

feeling and sensing, but not yet knowing

your invitation was made to be here, invisibly

to feel all alone, your past with its present

and future life —

That must truly be lived,

not in its ordinary particulars,

but under the command of forces

unknown to be your eternity,

yours alone to capture and hold again,

for your reentry into the world

of poetry and its truth once the time is right.