The Riverbed

Nothing stays as it was; even grief learns to flow, carrying love into new forms.

The river remembers you
the way the earth remembers rain--
each touch returning,
each absence a pause.
Your laughter drifts,
bright as light
beneath the water.

Nothing truly loved
is meant for keeping.
Even the brightest bloom
must loosen its hold,
its petals glinting once
before surrendering
to the flow.

The current gathers all things--
gold and shadow,
ache and ecstasy--
polishing each
into quiet grace,
setting them among stones
where eternity begins.

Loss softens to silt,
grief reshaped
into fertile ground.
From its depths rise
moss clinging to rock,
willow bending to light--
the silent persistence
of love transformed.

Its wisdom is motion--
to hold by letting go,
to remember by releasing,
to love by flowing onward.

The beauty of the current
is its impermanence--
how it leaves traces
without chains,
echoes without edges.

The riverbed holds all things,
deepening with each season.
What passes through the heart
cannot be held--
yet its passage remains,
filling the soul--
a fullness that hums,
endless as water.

Author's Note

Sometimes grief is a landscape where love, loss, and memory continually transform.
In the riverbed, beauty and meaning are shaped not by holding on, but by letting go.
It took 11 years to make peace with grief--now, it has become a riverbed.

Reviews

[Betty Hermelee]

In this beautiful piece, the river comes alive and becomes the memory, constantly moving as it is supposed to, as our memory does; it not only moves the heart but fills the soul to its completion...the river ebbs and flows as does our memory; it is the beginning of life and the end of life... it is all seasons, fertile for nature's moss and other delicate flora...'The riverbed holds all things"...just as the soul does....
Perfect words. so meaningful!
Warmly, B

[RomaJ]

Thank you so much, B! I really appreciate your thoughtful and warm response. I actually made the poem more minimalist after feedback from other readers, to let the lines breathe and the flow feel gentler.

Your words are so lovely. Thank you for such a heartfelt review.

I wrote this poem in memory of a loved one; our last conversation was on Halloween, 11 years ago, and the season is here again. I feel at peace now, and the riverbed has become a place where grief has softened. Thank you again for reading so thoughtfully.

[Betty Hermelee]

Always a pleasure!
Warmly, B

[Jansy]

This poem is an astonishing masterclass in the hydrodynamics of memory!

​The central insight is that true permanence is achieved only through surrender. The riverbed functions as a kind of subterranean archival system, proving that the only way to genuinely remember is to allow the thing to fully pass.

The river is not being forgetful; it's simply operating under the principle that nothing truly loved is meant for keeping, which is why even the brightest bloom must loosen its structural integrity to become a polished quiet beauty among the stones.

​The poem establishes a beautiful, fluid paradox: loss softens into silt precisely so it can function as fertile ground for the next green beginning. The final wisdom is that the current’s beauty lies in its impermanence.

Because if the heart tried to hold everything that passes through it, the soul would never achieve that quiet, endless hum of fullness. The whole system works because the river is committed to releasing its inventory every single time.

I'd like to add: Each stanza is beautifully crafted. RomaJ , you can literally just make separate posts for each stanza and share each one, as a single standalone poem, which would still be longer than most poems that are posted on this site. Bravo

[RomaJ]

That’s such an incredibly thoughtful and generous response. Thank you! I love how you described it as “the hydrodynamics of memory.” That phrase alone feels like its own poem. You captured the heart of what I hoped to express—the idea that surrender itself is a form of remembrance. I’m deeply touched that you read it with such care. And I love your idea about each stanza standing alone. That actually makes me see the piece in a new light

[RomaJ]

Jansy, I trimmed the poem. Thank you for your constructive review. I appreciate it.

[Jansy]

What???? Don't listen to me. I'm dumb. I don't give any constructive anything. It's lovely put it back. I'm an idiot

[Jansy]

I'm sorry. Please. I feel terrible

[ShadesofV]

There’s such grace in the way this poem releases what it loves. It reads like the river’s own memory.carrying ache, beauty, and renewal all at once. The river’s philosophy is to keep by letting go. This one lingers quietly, like light beneath the current.

[RomaJ]

I love how you captured the core idea..that the river's philosophy is to keep by letting go. I'm delighted it "lingers quietly" with you! Thank you for reading and sharing your wonderful thoughts, Vlue.