river poem poetry knowledge identity transformation

RIVER

sailed in a boat
up the river

could have been
the Congo, the Amazon
or the Nile

was singing songs
to myself, Beatles songs
since they might help
me feel sane
and safe
keep
my spirits up, stay
civilized

for as the serpent of rivers
coils and uncoils
no telling what these
waters hold in
store for me, or I for
these waters
the chatterinv shrieking of
all manner of bird
every sort of strange animal

a kind of language
a fable, a warning not
at all translatable until
suddenly clarity
perfect sense
and there
is no return to
that sweet ignorance

you are so so close to the source
and start to
sense things

are a
part of everything