The river knows no season, no emotion, just the endless cycle of birth and death. Listen for the whisper of life born anew and feel peace from the river flow.
Eel River Round Valley, CA  Niagara Escarpment, Ontario Canada |  Mountain stream in italy |
| Life’s Choices Will you travel a Slowly meandering stream, A fragile leaf Floating on quiet water? Or will you ride Churning rapids, paddle Furiously In your protective raft? Would you rather Fight the current, swim Upstream, leap cataracts, Be a spawning salmon? It is your choice, But just remember this: All journeys will end in In the all-embracing sea. Seasons of the river Shaded violets bloom Wheat fields sprout sturdy green stalks On the river’s banks. Sun blazes, hot air Golden grain sways with the wind O’er the river’s banks. Red, yellow, brown leaves Float on the river’s current Tumble with the flow. Land is icy white, Fish sleep in the cold river, Whose water still flows. River’s Journey High on a mountain top Water trickles from glacier. Descending, gathers speed, Joins another trickle And another. Now a mountain stream, They continue downward, Come to a valley. Here they slow, rest, But continue to flow, Find an outlet And rush down the slope. Reach the big valley, Join many streams In the big river. Blending, no longer distinct, The slope less steep, The waters Flow more slowly, But forever downstream In perpetual flow, Almost to a still As they arrive at the River mouth, Mix with the ocean’s Saltwater tide, Then wash into The great ocean Where all is one. | Flighty Reality All that is, is change. Being is becoming, A never-ending flux, A flighty reality. We would suspend this flight At moments dear to us, But sadly, good and bad Are both part of the stream. There's nothing left to do But to accept what is, To savor the painful flow And marvel at the wonder. Enigmatic Reality All's ever changing Yet ever the same, An enigma it is. Change is changeless And changelessness is change! The past's in the present, The present's in the future, All is but one. Time in timelessness And timelessness in time! Everything is All that it ever was And all that it will be. Oneness in multiplicity And multiplicity in oneness! Life's Steady Flow Newborn, child, Youngster, adult, Husband, wife, They come in sequence And have their time. Work, play, Grief, joy, Love, hate, They fall in line And have their day. Spring, summer, Autumn, winter, Come and go, And all things Join the flow! Change is ceaseless, All is constant, Nothing is gained, Nothing lost, A wondrous whole! -JM Epigrams At any one point in its course, the river is everything it ever was and will ever be. Change is life's sole constant. What is, is change in changelessness. Change is inevitable and time is incessant. There is no time but there is change. |
 Vatilava or Moldau River in Prague |  JM by the Arno River in Florence |
| Cultural Flow Cultures come and cultures go In a constant ebb and flow, They’re born with a flourish, Arts and science nourish, Until human greed Sprouts conflict and need, And the waters stagnate. But then, lying in wait, Born, as yet unknown, Its seeds still unsown. A new culture will emerge, Rush forth with a hopeful surge. And it too, will grow, then die Leaving behind but a sigh. The River Green sprouted through deep rich earth, Mothers everywhere gave birth. Peace was again at hand And the river ran. Children played wild and carefree ‘Neath the leafed-out apple tree Heedless of the treaty ban. Still the river ran. Drying leaves began to fall, Geese flew south with mournful call. Cold discord crept through the land. Yet the river ran. Came wan winter ice and snow, Friend and brother were now foe. Clashing armies took their stand. But the river ran. Then the darkest longest night, Pale moon but a ghostly white, Heedful few a cry heard and Still the river ran. Hope sprang forth from fountainhead Fresh air breathed life from the dead. Rose bloomed in the snowy land, And still the river ran. -MW | Variations on a Theme In times long past, In an agrarian age Of simple tillers of the soil, There also dwelled In castles and in mansions A ruling aristocracy. The tillers toiled In submissive awe, Indentured and with little hope. The privileged few, Kings, lords and entourage, Ruled, revelled and waged wars. All was so, A divine arrangement, The choice few, the lowly many. Things then changed, The hoi polloi erupted, The hoity-toity paled and tumbled. The industrial age That flowered and flourished for years Saw tillers of the soil become toilers in the factory. A change in culture Brought also a change in reign, Industrial tycoons took scepters in hand. Change is insistent, A financial world's now emerged, Brawn's been replaced by skilled indenture. Rule too has changed, A new few are now in charge, Corporate capitalists now firmly enthroned. -JM Epigrams At any point in its course, the river is everything it ever was and will ever be. What is, is change in changelessness. Change is inevitable and time is incessant. There is no time but there is change. Change is life's sole constant. |
Píccola waiting for her breakfast. I'm happy if nothing changes. I like my routine: sleep in a warm bed, get a belly rub, eat, sit on the sofa with my humans to chew my latest stuffy, sleep, bark a bit at perceived dangers (airplanes in the sky), poop, get a treat, repeat. Structured time that repeats timelessly. I am content.