SOURCE OF PLEASURE: A flowing river . . .

11

Source of Pleasure

A flowing river

gains strength

from the depths. 

Placid or rippling,

a lake’s life-forms

maintain its balance. 

Ecosystems flourish,

Becoming a source of pleasure

for those who thrive

on fresh water. 

Depletion is not an option for

Nature’s one true elixir.

 

 

 

None of the photographs that accompany these poems were chosen until after the poems were written. If I had any image in mind when I wrote this particular poem, it would have been the one enclosed here. I took the photograph during my vacation in Alaska, and it is my favorite from the entire trip. I have no idea which river this is, but it flows somewhere on the outer rim of Anchorage. 

Originally, I used the picture for the cover of my next novel. The main plot of the story involves a river’s rapids. Ultimately, though, this scene appeared “too busy” for a book cover. Interesting to me is that, as I continue to look at the picture, the “busy-ness” is also what I find calming. 

I can hear the water rushing over hidden rocks, feel the breeze that contributes to the rippling motion of its surface, smell the scent of pine needles in the air, see the sun glaring off the snow along the banks, and imagine the taste of wild berries. 

The fresh-water supply of the USA is largely found in the Great Lakes. I grew up in a small town that extents seven miles into Lake Michigan. To a child, with the lake stretching beyond the horizon on all sides save the beach side, it was no smaller than the world’s oceans combined. It was easy to take fresh water for granted. 

Only now are we becoming aware that it is time to reconsider the abuse of nature’s one true elixir.