Flowing

I am the St. Johns River.
Mother Earth gives me life,
nourishes me with streams and warm springs.

As I flow, I feel
power as my waters brush
against Cyprus knobs and piers,
cormorants and anhingas who pierce
my waters as they dive to feed,
fish who tickle me as they swim
in my currents.

As I flow, I listen to
motor boats rushing upstream and down,
mating calls of herons, osprey, and more,
rains that sustain me.

As I flow, I smell
flowers and trees,
pheromones,
the life that surrounds me.

As I flow, I watch
birds who fly with a freedom
I’ll never know,
my currents play with reflections—
such beauty.
and I watch you watching me.

I am the St. Johns River.
I flow, then merge with my own kind
in a vast sea of togetherness.

reflection in a quiet section of river
by Jeter Skeet