You're privy to the secrets
she's carried since her birth
those everlasting stories
of men who worked the earth.
You hear her murmuring sallies
the ripples of her soul
like the crying of an infant
as the distant church bells toll.
You've seen her winter tantrums
heard her laughter in the spring
enjoyed her summer laziness
but autumn's everything.
Golden clouds ride her eddies
and there's yellow on the foam
while copper tints the backwater
her bosom bears them home.
You've watched her race the shallows
where her pebble bed doth shine
you've viewed her sparkling birth place
and watched her join the brine.
You've been there by the mill pond
where the weeping willows fall
and watched the old wheel turning
as the otters wildly call.
You've shared her with the wild things
enjoyed her eternal song
dangled your toes at midnight
cavorted all day long.
She nursed you through your childhood
she welcomed you in age
gave smiles and memories gladly
wrote her name across your page.
Today you stand beside her
watch the mist rise o'er her brow
and think of all that you have seen
between the then and now.
All the places you have traveled
all the people you have met
but if there's anything quite like her
you haven't found it yet.
The woodland and the river
both hold your heart in keep
they influence your waking
they smile upon your sleep.
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