Dorothy Johnson-Laird
The River Persists
The river carries old silver trinkets for safekeeping, white shells, letters with russet ink, a wooden vessel. She slow curves under the sky reflecting the white birds above her How they swoon together and slowly dive apart. The river rolls on, past the tall evergreens Their dark leaves stir mysteries in the breeze She tries to breathe within this heat Nowhere to cool down She moves over misplaced oil Plastic bottles Forgotten wire Empty spray cans Sifting through smoke and ash Broken glass, cloth torn apart Her water not as clean as it once was Trying to breathe as she hurries by A harsh oppressive wind arrives, tugging at her Yet the river persists even while people throw their syringes into her Their harsh medicines go under her surface They do not pause to consider their actions They do not take a step back, stop To see her slow ripples of beauty How many small, delicate animals she carries within The silver fish that swim her length Still she keeps going With her fearless, persistent flowing She finds her way Under the clouds that gather near Under the sky that threatens Sudden scatter lines that clap hard sounds Despite all She battles on She continues her long journey into the sea |
Dorothy Johnson-Laird is a poet and social worker who lives in New York City. Dorothy has published music journalism with www.afropop.org and www.worldmusiccentral.org. Recent poems appeared in Aji, Cantos, Pomona Valley Review, and Pedestal Magazine, among others. Her poems were also recently published in the anthology, "Alchemy and Miracles: Nature Woven Into Words." More of Dorothy's poetry can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083698660157