The Tale of the Rio Grande

James Friedman

Off the cliff face in the summer sun

I stared into the waters

of the mighty Rio Grande

“Woah” I said

“Woah indeed”, said the wind

As it brushed the dust off my shoulders and scattered

never to be seen again

The river is vast and wide

It’s stronger than I am

It fights harder than me

Runs faster

The sum of my soul would go

Like a speck in the sea

In the flow of that canyon maker

Louder than any dream

Than any hurt I’ve ever known

But one day the canyons will resurface

The mighty Rio Grande

Will stumble and stop

It will not run forever

And that’s when I remembered the truth

Every story that must be written

Must be forgotten also

And yet somehow

I stand here still

Between the peaks

Of Birth and Oblivion

Writing my story as my soul flows along

Within the course

Of the Mighty Rio Grande