Along this river I lost track of my reflection
Amidst a thousand fragmented lives rolling out to sea
The smiles that swept past before I could return them
Tears that joined the current and were lost.
There’s always room for one more among the refuse
Which is why I’m here sitting on the riverbank
Wondering if it might not be enough.
Around the bend it’s all lost from view—
There begins the journey through dry land
Where the riverbed grows narrow and choked
Slow enough for some to crawl ashore
And the rest are swept through the bottleneck.
The gravel below the surface is filled with items they dropped
Though they’d have no need for them when they reached the ocean anyway.
Once, I wondered why anyone would choose the river,
Now I see a space big enough for me drawing near
And I’m ready to slip beneath the surface.

Image by Alex Hu from Pixabay