I simply could not write a
poem about a river, a song
yes, but honestly how would
one put cadence on water
using words, it's impossible.
Poetry is for ponds or pools.

Liquid movement needs to
be represented by activity;
an attempted onomatopoeia
from the glossary of musical
terminology and not a mere
element of vocal expression.

Our meandering aqua-ducts
are conducted by nature, part
of a symphony, an orchestra
accompanies them every step
from their trickling springs to
les grandes fleuves à la mer.

I couldn't write a poem about
a river, rhapsodies over rapids,
frothy fermatas, prestos, tempos,
streaming ouvertures, dammed
ritardandos, torrential tremolos,
catchment syncopations, sand bars.

What about swishing droplets from
the metal cymbals of mill wheels or
hanging branches flapping in rhyming
meter or clapping swan's encore echoes
under arched bridges? Yes, Tennyson
wrote one; But that was just a Brook.