The River

I wrote this poem in 1984, 16 years old. Spiritual in its theme, it compares life to a river, full of highs and lows, stillness and fury, happiness and sorrow. Read also The Flame (1985), which compares the soul to the flame of a candle.

O there she stands

On the banks of Time

Watching the river of Life flow by –

She sees the faces

Of them that she knew

And fragments of barren love

Float by.

She sees herself

In ripples of mirth

And torrents of furious idealism

Her reflection is carried

In floods of passion

Honour, strength, and optimism.

She sees herself

In the still of the water

In its innate calm and dignity

She sees her love

Crash against the rocks

Of hopelessness

And break into a million

Painful drops.

Fountains of brilliance

Dance in her eyes

And she sees Destiny

Sparkle in the sun –

Yet currents of unhappiness

Run underneath

As the River flows on.

O she is waiting

For the arduous journey

To complete –

Life was born

In the mountains of Glory

And flowed through the

Swamps of Humanity –

Preserving its purity

Defying obscurity

To finally join the sea

Of Immortality.

O she is waiting

On the lonely banks of Time

For the River to join Eternity.

Vanita Shukla Hork, 1984

If you liked this poem, you will enjoy my book Soul (Memories from another Lifetime).  Available on Amazon, free on KindleUnlimited. Please do leave a review.