https://Voice.club - The river. Sometimes a source of joy and beauty. Other times a ferocious adversary. The river haunts my dreams, flows through every moment of my life.
When I was a young boy, I came here with my friends to dive and swim. Look, you can still see the rope swing dangling from the green trees. Hold tight, swing out, further and further, hold even more tightly … squeal, then let go! Dogs barking, water splashing, barefoot boys laughing. Those were the days of joyous youth!
A few years later I sat on the riverbank, nursing my broken heart. I had labored over that homemade valentine, painstakingly pouring my feelings into a poem. She read it aloud to our classmates, amid giggles and smirks and eye-rolling. When she tore the valentine into little pieces, I retrieved what was left of my gift and headed for the river, which just kept flowing, oblivious to my pain. Look, I buried the scraps under the tree that still holds the rope swing.
The years flew by, filled with failures, disappointments, terrible choices, and dashed hopes. One day I finally decided I had suffered enough. I decided not to leave a note. After all, who would read it? And who would care? I filled my pockets with smooth river stones and walked into the water, deeper and deeper. I looked around me as I slowly walked, my tears turning the landscape into a blue and green blur. Just as the water softly touched my face, I heard voices.
“There he goes, still making idiotic choices.”
“What are you trying to prove, coward?”
“Bon voyage, fool!”
Suddenly the water roared over its banks, a tsunami devouring everything in its path. I stood in the dry riverbed, feeling my life change.
“Calm down, that’s not the way,” I whispered to my dear friend, the river, climbing out to save my misguided detractors.
Look, there’s the cairn I built from the river stones to honor compassion, forgiveness, and self-acceptance.
My friends and I listen with new ears to the dogs barking and the water splashing. We’ve circled around to the beginning, once again laughing with joy.
And the river flows - and the river flows.
