Sadness is a river
Flowing backwards, black as the night
Fashioned with a soaking ecstasy in winter
Flooding the town with its melancholy
Laid wide with a luminous drive
Flashed through minds with a burst
Black was the river with a yellow call
Shone was a landscape in this darkness
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Lastly, a river
This scorching meandering
Into the sadness
Take me to the river
Wash me in muddy water
It’s so cold that I shiver
Adopt me as your daughter
The river water heals me
Brings me closer to my personal Jesus
We sing songs in a minor key
The river water frees us
Washing in the river. Washing myself clean. Clean of the dirt and grime of a society gone mad. This is the way of my ancestors, to wash in the river away from the frenzies of the city. The water is cool, and my blood runs ice-cold when I step inside. I feel the purity of the saints.
River cleanses me
Of evil impurities
Baptismal waters
this river runs ragged
thru the hills
i always return here
to hear the sparrow-song
& listen to the water rush
along the embankments
like a manic mind
bursting with zeal
Continue reading “Ragged River (a poem)”
The river meanders
dividing line of Philly & Jersey
fog drifts off blue-black water
on the way to the concert
you can hear music reverberate
feel chilly breeze on your skin
men & women pulsing with
sexual energy
some of them tipsy
touch my hand
tell me you understand
let me know I’m alive –
the warmth of your body
the coldness of steel handlebars
ready for a night of euphoria
(Photo by Matt Power on Unsplash)
The Hight Priest of Saturn tends to his parish –
you didn’t expect to find him here
hidden in this Rust Belt town
a town eager for rebirth
a town that’s lost its youth
who’ve fled the flaking steel mills that die
on the banks of the purple river –
The High Priest of Saturn expects a successor
someone to continue the cleansing
the vicarious pleasure of standing
before Saturn, our merciful Maker.
(Photo from sciencenewsforstudents.org)
Note: This poem was inspired by High Priest of Saturn, a musical group self-described as in the psychedelic doom genre. I’ve been listening to more groups like them lately, so I guess the cool band name was caught in my head!
