A Poem

[Chris T.]

Hi.  I wrote a poem in the last 24 hours that I hope is appropriate to share here.  I don't live there but I don't know other people to share it with.  

I have traveled through that area and appreciate the place and the people, and do hope to go there more.  Maybe at least a few people there might like this poem.  People there seem like they would be more interested in something like this than other people or places that I know.  I have never been a person to go to poetry readings or writing groups or whatever would seem fitting for poetry.  It seems pretty out of character for me, or at least in the past and how I have lived.  I also may not seem like the kind of person on the surface to write a poem like this and I would in the past probably feel awkward sharing something like this with a more average group.  

This seems like sort of a select audience that can appreciate certain kinds of art and thinking and specific things in life that might relate, so I figured why not.  Another reason is due to what the poem is about in it's metaphors and descriptions.  The poem isn't meant to be in essence about the Mattole Valley or fixated on a physical place at it's foundation, but I did write it with extra inspiration by visualizing the poetic valley there that is like a mini microcosm.  Since that valley and area is what fed the mind, at least in part, to produce it, I think maybe some people might like it for relating to the area in it's inspiration.

Thanks for reading........

Chris T.

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Welcome to the valley
one you will never see with your eyes
through it runs a river
with ears you could never hear
the current is strong
you could be carried away
lost in the flow
maybe swept out to sea
only to join the rest of the drops fallen from the sky


so open your heart
try to leave
don't hold onto this place
nothing is here
what you want and what you need
can be two different things
the beautiful mountains
can be the walls of your prison
and it's hard to escape when attached to what you see


when it rains
it comes with a storm
empty vessels catch the precipitation
full ones overflow and let it go
the path can end here or carry on
traveling the surface
some penetrates the earth
seemingly lost and gone
emerging unexpectedly as a spring, cooler, cleaner, and richer


keep going, don't stop
meandering in a stream
in the dark under the stars in the night
try not to rely on sight
the morning comes and you find yourself in a creek
appreciate the shimmering rays piercing the cover of leaves
the trees are near and that is clear
but the forest and it's depth are difficult to perceive
so long as the water is fresh, fear less, and feel what it is to be free


though you may be in good company
don't stay too long
bound by the gold plating of a mortal love
friends might not be able to ask you to go on
hesitance and indecision can cost precious time
let the honest intuition of the soul be your guide
the stagnent mass of academics will slow you down
the faster route of learning is with the current
be unbound to what is already known, to find the profound


wisdom compounds, action is swifter
with the experience spilling into a river
alone as you are, now it can be known
in motion surrounded by more droplets than ever
the only constant is change
still, many are afraid to leave the banks and enter
their view remains the same due to deception
following their senses holds back their conception
what matters is., and the energy cannot be seen, but reflected or passing


the route of course is different for all
the river will never be the same
to get here we all had to fall
and likely have to battle turbulence to remain
we make our way
without always knowing where we are going
with hope that the river never ceases
at least the moisture and sun will keep things growing
what the plants, the fish, the birds, and the beasts have is an innate nature that takes works for us to cultivate


as we pass from here to there
despite the water we are, the path is often not clear
the destination may be remembered
but the traveler determines the way to go
progression along the river can lead to it's mouth
a point where the life is spit out
it is finally handed off to the ocean
swallowed up by it's waves
stirred under the stars, mirroring the moon, basking in the sun


resting with harmony
returned to the whole
the music still plays
reunification after the chance to travel the world
singing a song with a simple message of truth to convey
.....all is One

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