River Tale

River Tale

The water flows on,
unending.
A stream of life
that goes on reaching.
It flows by cities,
slumbering silently,
unaware.
It laps around ankles
of small children,
laughing at the cold,
leaping away.
It rushes down gullies,
overturns rocks
and scares fish from their hiding places.
It flows slowly
towards the ocean,
stopping only to offer
a catch to the fisherman,
a wave to the surfer.
It sweeps away discarded lives,
dross, and small children.
I place my hand in the river,
drag it along the bottom
and gather small pebbles.
I let them fall slowly,
plop…plop…plop.