She is a River
“Women can change better’n a man,” Ma said soothingly. “Woman got all her life in her arms. Man got it all in his head.”
“Man, he lives in jerks-baby born an’ a man dies, an’ that’s a jerk-gets a farm and looses his farm, an’ that’s a jerk. Woman, its all one flow, like a stream, little eddies, little waterfalls, but the river, it goes right on.
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
She is a River
She flows from the hearts of the people
In the hope of preserving justice for all
On the battle-scarred Potomac
Where we became a nation
With her brave and unselfish history of law and order
Her tributaries lead through the deltas
Of the San Joaquin and Sacramento
Bending and stretching with assurance
Curving through the fruitful valleys
Of the golden state of promise
As she rose to the heights of public service
She rolls along the mighty Mississippi
Tendering southern resistance along the Missouri
In the heartland of the American farmer
Who has forgotten the words of equity
She channels rushing into a new economy
Diving into the waters of the Hudson
Unafraid of the rich and wealthy corporations
And its leaders that have exploited the common man
She runs with strength and fortitude
Surging with the untamed rapids of conviction
Where the headwaters of the great Columbia
Blends with the Snake River
Where the wilderness and our historical presence
Will be cherished and unabused
She forges through the frozen tributaries with
Her communion to the uninviting wilderness of the Yukon
And the tropical warmth of Hanalei rivers
Becoming the spirit of great explorers who have made America
The heartland of discovery
And in reaching the oceans of disparity
She breaches our common boundaries
Flowing beyond the seas with diplomacy and civility
To find the rest of the world as a worthy friend
So that the rivers of democracy find a resting place
She is a river of life and the world as we know it
Her tides and eddies nurture all that is truthful, kind and just
Harnessing the power of democracy for us all
She is the watershed for the world
That unifies us together as one
Copyright © Lonna Blodgett | Year Posted 2024
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