A river can shine
in winter sun
reflect it
to warm you
A river can shiver
in winter wind
A river can sustain
multitudes
with a trickle
A river can comfort
even
as it suffers
A river can spin
a tornado
of ring-billed gulls
glide them
back to splashdown
A river can defy
all known color palettes
charcoal?
in the desert?
A river can teach you
one squawking, flapping species
from another
Canada goose
from wood duck
from great blue heron
A river can do all this
in sight of
in spite of
heavy machinery
an inflatable car wash dinosaur
three-car pileups
belching fumes
record heat that breaks
record heat
A river can show you
how cheap
you’ve made the word resilience
A river can show you
how deep
you’d have to go
to begin to begin
in mere inches of water
a river can
The hike: The Rio Grande from Calabacillas Arroyo to the Alameda Bridge
Trail traffic: none
Difficulty: easy
Length: 4 miles
Creatures seen/heard: sandhill cranes, ducks, geese, doves, finches, starlings, crows, great blue heron, ring-billed gulls
Woman Seeks Elevation 
One Reply to “”