The River

One of my favorite places to go in the summer is the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. My family has had a summer cabin there dating back to when my grandparents were young. The cabin sits along the San Lorenzo River that meanders through the mountains. The family cabin consists of mostly porches. It has a sleeping porch, a dining porch and a side porch. The most peaceful place in the world is the sleeping porch, listening to the babbling of the river below, looking up at the towering redwood trees, and feeling the coolness of the mountain air. Whenever I need a mental retreat, I can return there. I breathe in the freshness of the mountains and the clear water below. I can see the chipmunks and squirrels running along the tree branches. I am soothed by the ever-moving water flowing onward below me. Take a mental retreat now with this poem...my gift to you today...

THE RIVER

There are places in the river where the water pools and spins
Where the fish can cease their striving and rest their tired fins
A peaceful pool, attractive, it can pull and draw life in
To the stillness.

There are places in the river where it rushes over rocks
Where it gurgles and it babbles, flow is thwarted by roadblocks
But it is not complaining, these are joyful sounds, just talk
In the stillness.

There are places in the river where it is deep and wide
Where the current pulls and surges, strength and power in the ride
It pushes ever onward, urgency of moon and tide
Toward the stillness.

There are places in the river where sun’s halo is reflected
Where God mirrors nature’s splendor, His creation is perfected
Life that thrives below the surface, the calm exterior protected
Within the stillness.