Poetry Pleases: The Lullaby Of Running Water
The eternal mystery of life encompassed
In one inspiring view
Bob Ellis writes of natural wonders on a watery day.
The fog hung heavy on the escarpment—
Wet, dank and indecipherable in its grayness.
Lower down the winding, narrow road,
The fog retreated to a cloudy clear day.
The car splashed through running water,
Between crumbling drystone walls,
Thick with dirty green mossiness.
Miniature waterfalls crossed the road
Gurgling merrily down the hill
Leaving the car in the valley bottom,
The silence struck
Curlews cried
The lullaby of running water
Permeated the quiet.
The beck was full of peat-colored water
Rushing down the stone-lined channel.
Foam hugged the corners
Eddies of detritus clung to the bank—
A visible, risible chuckle of life-giving liquidity
Climbing the steep bank,
Squelching upwards in mud-slicked boots,
Panting, struggling
Heavy jacket heavier by the minute
All for the view—
The view indeed!
The vast water lay quiet—
Black.
Deep.
Unemotionally flat without ripples,
Beautifully indifferent,
Waiting, waiting
For a catspaw of wind-induced wavelettes.
The eternal mystery of life encompassed
In one inspiring view.
* *
From There is Wisdom in Walnuts; 27 Poems by Tony Ellis and a Couple by his Dad. ©2004 bob ellis / www.tonyellis.com
