SIGHT & SOUND PRODUCTIONS©

River of No Return

Tomorrow you will run that river.
Then the golden promise,
The smooth, seemingly unbroken flow
Will be revealed for what it is:
A thousand twists, each hiding
Snags, rocks, precipitous cataracts.

When you emerge-wet, scratched, bruised-
Elated just to survive,
You can forget that each hazard was double,
That a million times you drowned in fear.
All you will remember is this:
You met the challenge and survived.

Then go back to your life-
Leap back into the swift currents
That sweep you, unwilling, into turmoil,
That smash you on unyielding fate,
And trap you in hard times.

You will not survive forever.
But if you face the challenge,
The ride will be worth it.

Jane Nielson©1995

(Poetry Insert on Vellum)