Rivers of Tears
once lithe and vital
nature’s great rivers
lie choked and bloated
buried misshapen
in watery graves
of reckless progress
headstone’d
by constructs
of human folly
their bones
stained
with the ghosts of salmon
borne away
on the tears
of the ancients
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
So glad to have fond you here, as well as dVerse. Either place I enjoyed what I read here. this poem of the environmental elements such as the dams choking the Pacific northwest rivers is something I thank you making me aware.
What an artful commentary on how we’ve abused our waters. Well done.
the poem speaks of a great sadness committed towards our waterways…terrible…but the good news is that this particular one has been cleaned up a lot and the fish are coming back!! Great poem. Thankyou
How beautiful…and how sad………..
Time to start remembering the Ancients…….
Really lovely.
there’s a lot of great stuff here. i love the second stanza the most, but i really like the ghosts of the salmon too
the river
Ghosts of salmon, oh no, say it isn’t so!
Karen, I’m afraid it is quite so, and the pollution we dump into the fresh water of our rivers, is going to one day come back to haunt us in so many ways — it won’t be just the ghosts of salmon…
It’s a sad situation. Thanks for the well-written reminder.
beautiful but sad….but so right we have to shout it from the rooftops..we are in a drought situation here..our seasons turned inside out……
Beautiful and sad tribute to our rivers…
Beautifully lyrical, as always
So sad, but well constructed.
it is sad top see the wake of our progress and what we have done to the rivers, the land….
I too liked “the ghosts of salmon”
maybe it is not ok to eat fish because they do have feelings (credit to Nirvana).
fFsh as a food source is not the issue, it’s poisoning and killing fish through reckless practices that is the problem…
Rob, such a tender ache for what was…before we stepped in had our say…sad that we learn so slowly sometimes, seemingly making the same mistakes over and over again. But there is always hope and beautifully written words set free to touch hearts and maybe make a difference. 🙂
It’s terrible that humans have befouled their own nest, so to speak. Your poem reminds us that such things must not be too far from mind.
Hey Rob i wish youd stop making me face reality and just let me live in my zombie like trance state where everything is loveliness and light and hunky – dory . Thanks, Kuta’
Yet i suspect the river will still be there , long after we are back as fish !
Rob, as an activist, this is exactly my cup of tea: Strong, bitter, and stirring within me. Your point is so well taken. People seem to feel that unless the river runs smack dab through their town or their yard, it’s no big deal. Fact is, all the dams built during the 30s are starting to crumble; in the meantime, more and more rivers and streams are depriving Native Americans and others of water here… not to mention the infernal, unregulated charges people abroad must pay to get even a trickle. THANKS for putting this on the map, on people’s minds. It should make everyone uncomfortable. That’s the heart of activism, poetic or otherwise. BRAVO. Amy
http://sharplittlepencil.com/2012/05/08/moon-beams-dverse/
“and a river runs through it”, our dreams, our hazy memories of clear waters and sparkling flows. Leave it to you to come up with a Green poem; love it.