To sit by the great Mississippi on a warm summer day
is one of the joys of living.
In this setting of pristine beauty,
a vast panorama unfolds like a scroll.
The vaulted sky reveals the existence of other worlds.
Towering trees defy the pull of gravity.
The warm summer breeze is the elixir of life.
The soft green grass offers comfort and rest.
While the inexorable power of the river
over life and death rides on its crest.
As I watch this vast expanse of water
coming and going like time flowing into eternity,
a hypnotic haze descends,
and I'm overwhelmed by the powerful surge.
The helpless victim of a relentless force,
I struggle in the currents - sometimes
submerged - sometimes my head
above water - reaching franticaly for beckoning
branches to pull myself to high ground.
In this strange illusion, the ageless river
carries me away in the tide
on a course of no return.
However strong the waves, it is my destiny!

Henry Botts

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-river-and-i/