One Limp Forward And A Hundred Steps Back

Who hears the rippling of rivers will not utterly despair of anything. - Thoreau

in a stark divergence of divinity

a divestiture of narcissism

a mocking of the trinity

a fornication of free will

a foray into a flowing fairy tale

a river's prowess is looted

robbed

embezzled

pilfered

plundered

forming a millpond of stolen water, sweat and tears

a carnal causeway of callousness

eddying in an exited eternity

standing at its periphery

i see a mix of reality 'pon its surface along with murky, spent dreams in its depths

incapable of reflecting anything but truth

hiding greedy secrets, desperation and depravity in its recesses

the mill's wheel has long since stopped turning

but its spun legacy remains

surrounded by stacked bricks

held together with the mortar of existence

in a sneak attack

carried on a twisted, aching, broken back

stretched out on a rack

one limp forward and a hundred steps back

Author's Note

“The life in us is like the water in the river. It may rise this year higher than man has ever known it, and flood the parched uplands; even this may be the eventful year, which will drown out all our muskrats. It was not always dry land where we dwell.” - Thoreau

Reviews

[Brandy]

Alliterations are aligned perfectly. : )
(Lately, I've been enjoying that form).

' a mix of reality, ' while ' hiding secrets. '
A deep thought, indeed.
Murky water reminds me of such.
The photo you have chosen matches your words, enhancing the mood within.

Sometimes in life, it is : ' one limp forward and a hundred steps back. '
My best to you, Pete.

[Pete]

thank you for sharing kind thoughts.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Pete… a perfect poem for the Times we are now enduring… God Save the Rivers as they Bend and Flow. gently, Pat

[Relic]

If I'm not mistaken, I may have read something similar to this on another site, (DUP) yet it's much more involved than I remember. I recognize the video and the quote. It's an excellent poem that deserves 100/100.

[Pete]

??????????

[Relic]

My bad! I was thinking of your last poem. You included the same video and I thought I saw it on the other site. Sorry about that.

[Pete]

no prob. i was confused about what you meant.

[Betty Hermelee]

Dear Pete
you bring this river to life…and just. like us it has a personality of its own, moods of its own….constantly changing “I see a mix of reality upon its surface”…” spent dreams in its depths”………a river’s history we learn is a mystery…..”hiding greedy secrets”
great read🌷
warmly, B

[Pete]

i'm fascinated by it. i can't help but imagine all the lives that have been touched by it and vice verse. standing the test of time and always flowing. thanks for sharing b.

[Thomas W Case]

Tremendous writing, Pete. You take the reader there.

[Pete]

thanks twc. runs right past where i currently live.