As I sat beside the river,
beneath the outstretched limbs of towering trees,
and watched as people, young and old,
laughed and played in a warm spring breeze.
Fathers and sons fished from the shore
under a golden sun and deep blue sky,
the birds sung sweetly and the flowers bloomed,
I could not recall such a day, as hard as I try.
And then something changed, I could feel it,
it whispered to me in the stillness and calm,
and came in a whisper carried on the river,
it would change my life from that moment on.
Laughter, but unlike any I’d ever heard,
sweet and mellow unlike any I ever knew,
it was like a song that captured my very soul,
and then it happened, her boat came into view.
I slowly stood up and stared with great interest,
at first she looked away, and then I could see,
that although a distance separated us,
she smiled and nodded, and was looking back at me.
I followed the river as it flowed toward the ocean,
but it was moving fast, I had to quicken my pace,
and the only thing that I could see before me,
was that beautiful smiling face.
But the distance between us continued to grow,
I ran, and did so with all my might,
she smiled and waved again, but it was the last time,
at a bend in the river, she moved out of sight.
I ran faster than I can ever remember,
through bramble and bush, over rock and stem,
and wondered at some point in my stride,
would I ever see her again?
I grew tired, but just could not stop,
my heart was pounding in my chest,
and as I rounded the bend where I lost sight of the boat,
I fell to the ground in an uneasy rest.
The river had grown angry and was in turmoil,
the sky had the look of an oncoming storm,
all grew dark and quiet around me,
the boat and that beautiful face were gone.
For the first time, I felt alone and uncertain,
a heavy rain fell, and the wind began to scream,
then an unpleasant sound pierced the quiet and stillness,
I suddenly awoke to the alarm, it was all a dream.
I lay in bed and thought it all seemed so real,
my anger and sadness continued to grow,
but that smile and beautiful face stayed with me,
was she real? Perhaps I’ll never know.
But when we sleep, the mind can create,
scenes and stories that are meant to reveal,
things we want to forget, or hope for when awake,
and this time I hoped it would be real.
Throughout the day, I could think of nothing else,
and went down to the river, to the very place
where it happened but only in blissful slumber,
only this time I did not see her face.
The only relief to my disappointment
were the wise words of my father.
He would often speak to me as I grew,
“Be strong, persevere, and never give up, son,
and if you hope and pray with all your heart,
sometimes your dreams come true.”
