[mkirkpatrick]

I am at present moving house,going through piles of accumulated junk,downsizing and
getting ready to move abroad hopefully next year,anyway I came across a poem of sorts,
one that I wrote about 30 years ago,but seems to fit the theme discussed here,

It is called The river of life.

When did this start?-I can't remember,
long ago,it seems,so long ago.

Strangeness--Yes,that's it,strangeness,so bewildering.
The current seems slower now,able to look around,

Where are those faces that used to abound,have they disappeared in a vast ocean of
experience?

Maybe they are caught in an eddy,sampling this strange thing called stillness.
Beginning to drop their anchor,settling beside the bank of security.

Will I see them again I wonder,so deep,is there a bottom?

This river seems endless,maybe that's it.
How many eddies have I been in?Stillness would come,but not for long.

Our anchor seems seems too short,never did touch the bottom,maybe next time-aye?
Swept away from the bank of security,receding rapidly,the surge od life's river has us ever more in it's grasp.

I remember those rapids moving quickly,all is uncertain,those thoughts ten to the dozen,
will they ever stop?

A face drifts by,Hey,hold on,can you direct me to stillness? My mind is shooting the
rapids,I'm afraid.

The face looks deeply at me,my head falls down as if weighed by an unknown respect
for this strange face.

There is a silence,seems so long.
Please,please answer me,i hear myself think,then,with a shift of his gaze,the face speaks,
Stillness,you say,I see,
Yes,I can only point to you the direction of stillness,look ahead,what do you see?

Mist,I replied.
No,No,said the face,look again,and this time look with your heart as well as your mind.

This river is stronger than all of us,you have been struggling against it for a long time.

Let go,he said in a loud voice,ans see what you find.

With that the sun appeared,what joy I felt,i was at one with the river at last.

I turned to thank the face,but it had gone.

It just seemed so apt,fitting in with the theme,please forgive my indulgence.

regards michael.