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 sang sweetly and the flowers bloomed,
I could not recall such a day, as hard I try.
And then something changed, I could sense it,
it spoke 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 like none I’d ever known,
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,
there was something familiar about her;
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 but now familiar face.
The distance between us continued to grow,
I ran, and did so with all my might,
she smiled and waved again, but it was last time,
at a bend in the river, her boat 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,
as I rounded the bend where I lost sight of the boat,
I fell to the ground, and just had to rest.
The river grew 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 awoke to the alarm, it was all a dream.
I lay in bed and thought it 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 will happen,
and this time I hoped it would all be real.
Throughout the day, I could think of nothing else,
her face stayed with me, as my passion grew,
I went down to the river, to the very place,
maybe sometimes dreams do come true.
Hours passed, I watched and waited,
boats sailed by, and the children played;
was it all just dream, and was I wasting my time?
Perhaps, but I could not leave, I stayed.
It was getting late; I was alone on the river,
clouds filled the sky; it grew quiet and still,
fathers and sons, and the song birds were gone;
there was an emptiness, that nothing could fill.
I stood up, saddened, and walked along the river,
and wondered why this meant so much to me;
and why this effect, it was only a dream,
a fantasy, as far as I could see.
Finally, I said to myself, let it go,
don’t let it consume you, why bother;
but then I recalled from long ago,
the wise words of my father.
“Be strong, persevere, and never give up,"
he would often speak to me as I grew;
and “if you hope and pray with all your heart,
sometimes dreams come true.”
The streets of the city were bustling with activity,
but something was different, it wasn’t the same;
as hard as I tried, I could not forget her,
then suddenly from somewhere, someone called my name.
As the figure approached from out of the crowd,
I was uncertain at first, but then I knew;
if you’re sincere and wish hard enough,
sometimes dreams do come true.
It was a girl I knew from old school days,
I recognized that smile and pretty face,
even prettier now, than from long ago,
it was her from the boat, it was Grace.
It had been so long since we had seen each other,
but for me it was only the night before;
we exchange greetings, and then slowly embraced,
it was a meeting I would remember evermore.
We talked, laughed, and reminisced,
there was much to catch up on and say;
as we walked the sun shone through the clouds,
I could not have asked for a better day.
