Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ River

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Midweek Motif ~ River

"For life and death are one, even as the river and sea are one."--Khalil Gibran

"No man steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he is not the same man."--Heraclitus

"Fame is like a river, that beareth up things light and swollen, and drowns things weighty and solid"--Francis Bacon


River is the lifeline of all ancient civilizations. It is the silent witness of the rise and fall of empires and races. Though not breathing river lives. No wonder it has become a powerful symbol in mythologies of so many cultures.

River has been personified as being that is worshiped, feared, revered. It has been treated as metaphors for life, fertility and time too. Its birth, its journey with twists and turns and its final transformation is awe inspiring.

Our dear poet friend Sherry Blue Sky's poem flows like this:

Mother Ocean / Small Stream
by Sherry Marr


Small stream, as you gambol down rocky cliffs,
burble and babble in swirling pools,
chuckle in the afternoon sunlight,
you meet obstacles
on your journey to the sea.

Drought dries up your stream bed for a time'
or logs crash down and clog your passage
with mud and debris
it might take aeons to dislodge,
before you can flow freely
once again.

And yet you persevere,
with confidence,
with courage, with determination,
with gaiety,
because forward is the only direction you know,
and your life's work is
to finally reach the sea.

You stay serene and focused,
because you know that,
whatever may befall you as you travel,
still, you are water,
each drop of you as necessary
to the cycle of life as the next.
You know, one day you will merge
with Mother Ocean,
will become one with her,
will immerse yourself in her immensity
for all time.
Already, even at such a distance,
you are one,
for, still and always
you are water.


I may add another voice in our river song today and that's of  Wang Wei's (699AD-761Ad) who was a Tang dynasty Chinese poet, musician, painter, and statesman. He was one of the most renowned men of arts and letters of his time.

A Green Stream
by Wang Wei

I have sailed the river of yellow flowers,
Borne by the channel of a green stream,
Rounding ten thousand turns through the mountains
On a journey of less than thirty miles.

Rapids hum over heaped rocks;
But where light grows dim in the thick pines,
The surface of an inlet sways with nut-horns
And weeds are lush along the banks.

Down in my heart I have always been as pure
As this limpid water is.
Oh, to remain on a broad flat rock
And to cast a fishing-line forever!


Another poem for today's theme is Emily Dickinson's My River runs to thee.

My River runs to thee
by Emily Dickinson

My river runs to thee
Blue sea! Wilt welcome me?
My River wait reply
Oh sea-- look graciously
I'll fetch thee Brooks
From spotted nooks
Say--Sea--Take me!


So how does river sing to you? Today I would like you to be inspired by Rivers and write your lines.

Please share your new poem using Mr. Linky below and visit others in the spirit of the community.


( Next week Susan's Midweek Motif will be ~ Mercy. )



22 comments:

  1. In the blogosphere after a long time...hello friends...hope you enjoy the prompt :)

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    1. I must have been writing my comment while you were posting! Good morning/evening, Sumana!

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    2. I wish I'd read your prompt before writing my poem though, because now I know I'll have another before the day is through. The pieces you chose have my heart beating as if something new was about to come into my life!

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  2. Hey everyone,

    Wooo hooooo its time for Midweek Motif once again :D sharing my poem "Ode to the River" hope you guys like it :D


    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  3. Sweet sweet water - and lovely to see one of Sherry's poems - thank you both

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    1. PS Dare I ask..any hints on next weeks prompt ;)

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    2. Hey you're right Jae.. we don't know next week's prompt!!

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    3. Mercy! Sumana and I fixed that, thanks to your comments!

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    4. Thank you for the mercy of next weeks prompt - you and Sumana really do keep us afloat :)

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    5. You two are making me laugh. Mercy!

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  4. I am in a tranquil mood for today's prompt, so it is a tranquil river poem from me this week :-)
    Welcome back, Sumana!

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  5. loved this prompt Sumana and the way Sherry's moving poem comes to a stop:
    "for, still and always
    you are water."

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  6. Hi kids, am enjoying a slow tired but brilliantly sunny morning. Looking forward to enjoying your poems with my morning tea. Rivers are one of my favourite things and ours, right now, is alive with salmon leaping up the rapids, an amazing spectacle to witness. Thank you, Sumana, for using my poem as possible inspiration. I hope it inspires ME, LOL, as I am pretty blank of brain at the moment. But, like the salmon, I will Persevere!

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  7. Hi Sumana ~ sadly this got me thinking of a tragedy. And I've messed up my link again ~ it's gone to an old post ~any chance you can fix it? Sorry!

    https://claireylove.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/new-poem-the-rivers-mouth/

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  8. Thanks for hosting today Sumana. I had trouble posting mine. Still didn't get the alignment just right. (I'm not that techno-savy.) But, it's up and I'll spend time later today reading. I always look forward to this.

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  9. Hello, such an inspirational prompt ~ I knew I had to swim along..

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  10. What a wonderful prompt, Sumana! So glad to see you back....

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  11. This 'off' and 'on' relationship with internet is soooooooo frustrating...Hope I'm able to visit everyone :(

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  12. A lovely prompt, which I have been looking forward to. But I had no time to write to it in advance, and it turned out to be quite a hard one, going in a different direction from what I had thought, after the first two lines jumped into my head and demanded to be followed. Hours and hours later....

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    1. PS Well after midnight now. I'll come back and read others tomorrow.

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