Crossing
Crossing a river from here to the opposite shore
is what you have to do
while alive.
A far more difficult feat
than drifting blissfully along the flow.
And those who have tried both, should know.
A bridge or a boat,
a navigator, and a sailor,
all have to fathom
the secrets of the flow,
the secrets of the silence and deluge,
the spins and the gorge and the sudden plunge.
The swimmer must follow the logic of the waters
as well as the sailor must.
The power of the waters and the strength of the human,
the skill is in riding above the flow.
Sushama Karnik
Crossing a river from here to the opposite shore
is what you have to do
while alive.
A far more difficult feat
than drifting blissfully along the flow.
And those who have tried both, should know.
A bridge or a boat,
a navigator, and a sailor,
all have to fathom
the secrets of the flow,
the secrets of the silence and deluge,
the spins and the gorge and the sudden plunge.
The swimmer must follow the logic of the waters
as well as the sailor must.
The power of the waters and the strength of the human,
the skill is in riding above the flow.
Sushama Karnik
Yes I agree. And what you express here is so true. Life is a constant crossing of obstacles and it is not so much the crossing that matters but the way it is being maneuvered, therefore the very last line. A constant adaptability is required.
ReplyDeleteI like how you weave the metaphor of the river all along the poem, using it as a motif to reach us and make us aware and adhere to this view of yours, based on a fine psychological understanding of life.
Francoise Dhulesia