~~~~~the River~~~~~

. The river deep and dark ~~~flowing through the night carrying flotsam and jetsam ~~~through the shadowy moonlight drowning secrets upon secrets in its depths ~~~washing away the bones, washing away the blood from the sins of mankind along its course ~~~lapping eagerly against the shores of mud smelling of ebbing fish ~~~smelling of riverbed slime upstream and downstream pulling everything under ~~~into the most relentless good-bye of all time the river rippling over its shallows and rolling through its currents ~~~ever flowing ever streaming ever burbling against the rounded smooth pebbles on its shores ~~~ever its dark lurid song dreaming carrying memories like burnt offerings in its eddies ~~~leaving forgetfulness in its wake River Lethe drifting thoughtlessly along ~~~toward the confluence of the Columbia and the Snake. . .~~~~~~~~~~~~~~©2017 Susan Williams.