"hello, river" by Ross Balcom

hello, river

Ross Balcom

1.

hello, river

I greet the waterway

I am a man

arrived at its banks

and I would know

its winding wyrd

2.

I am the lurker

in the cattails

though naked,

I am no pervert

I am 

the Angel of the Rushes

3.

I have the feet of a frog

devolution's gift

for I can swim 

mightily

I am the dripping athlete

at your daughter's door

4.

a job applicant,

I reek of river

I hand you this portfolio

of marsh grass

in the expectation

you will not hire me

5.

fish sing their scales

their glad tunes rise

multicolored suns

the light, the water

this is the eternal 

shimmer

6. 

and shimmer, 

shimmer me

I would be the light

of the river

I would be the dawn

flowing

7.

around every bend

a new me

my serial selves

the river

has multiplied me

ye gods

8.

resolved again

into one man

I walk 

riverside

into sunset

feet big as folly

9.

the ever-changing river

always a stranger

and a friend

greeting me anew

each moment

I call it Hello River

10.

river, hello

Poet's Notes: I wrote this poem after a recent riverside walk.  I dedicate it to the rivers of the world and to all who love them.