Journey

This is a piece I wrote many years ago about the interaction in a seminar I attended.  It reminded me of the blog process, so I print it here. 

Waters flow from many hillsides

They come down slowly or quickly

They come down above or below the surface

They are reaching out for their origins or for their futures

They are aware only that their destinations reach downward



One by one they join others

Each brings its own character

And characteristics are blended together

To form new waters



These flow together in power

They carry parts of each world they pass with them on the journey

The waters darken as they speed onward

They are no longer water only

They are metal and clay, bark and branch

The whole world becomes involved in the rush.



When the destiny is reached, the pace slows

The color fades

The sediment settles

The waters are one.



Slowly the sun catches minute drops and pulls them to the sky.

From there they drop, fiercely or softly to the earth to begin the journey again.

Eulogy

This is a piece written a couple of years ago. 

Some recent events brought it to mind. 

The picture is a copy of a water color I completed at the same time as the writing.

There are places in our lives which, like people in our lives encourage, comfort, inspire and entertain us.  They are dependable, yet invigorating.  They are stable, yet surprising.  Like friends, we learn their ways and characteristics through time and experience.

One such place was the Lake Fort Smith spillway.

Lovers have both initiated and renewed their vows of love on its ledges.  Giggling children have dipped their toes in its inviting coolness.  Would be philosophers have contemplated the mysteries of existence while listening to the voices in its trees and waters.

In the gentle fall, I have known its colorful, reflective quiet; in the stark winter: raging, explosions of power.  In the spring it was like an expectant young mother preparing for birth and its stable patience under girded the noisy, playful crowds of summer.

In its demise, there is the comfort that places remain to which we can go for encouragement, inspiration and entertainment and there are new acquaintances awaiting us.  But the beauty lost, the dignity of its existence, the effect it has had on my life and the sweet, hilarious collection of memories require this eulogy.