muddy maumee river
remnant of the great black swamp
i was born along its bank
in a hospital long since abandoned
and grew up next to what
i was told was once the other bank
before it changed its course
as rivers sometimes do
that dry watercourse was a playground
its flat bottom held a football stadium
a running track and baseball diamonds
the trees on it’s sides a child's jungle
i can’t say now what formed in my mind
in those long ago formative years
what ideas flowed into me from that dry river
even today i never know what will flow out
Makes me wonder how a birth place does affect us.
ReplyDeleteand i didn't even say anything about 12 years of catholic school
DeleteOh I love that - the river - and never knowing what will flow out. Me, too!
ReplyDeleteI, too love the ideas of a river and all that flows. It is wondrous to think about how much our environment and roots affects our view on the world.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I enjoyed your poem.
Your river metaphor flows well
ReplyDeleteMuch love...
A riverbed is a wonderful way of beginning.. it has a flow yet not.. and it is a place of birth in itself I like how you started with the description of your birthplace fits in.
ReplyDeleteOkay, now I want to spin a poem about being born in an abandoned hospital. Meanwhile, what better place to grow up than with one's own jungle at hand?
ReplyDelete"even today i never know what will flow out"... exactly, but I am grateful that poems are still birthed.
ReplyDeletehttps://georgeplaceblog.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/conception-of-creation/
As rivers, and lives, often do. Descriptive and full of a sense of both self and place.
ReplyDeleteThe river and thought...perfect metaphors employed and a very visual piece...nicely crafted indeed...thank you!
ReplyDeletelove the comparison of this and the details are wonderful
ReplyDeleteOur birth place leaves an impression even if we don't understand its full impact...beautiful piece
ReplyDeleteRunning rivers or dry river beds… they are magical. Maumee - love saying that word.
ReplyDelete