The Life of the River

James Zoller One might begin at the headwaters – at a lake, say, because lakes are primal. One would not begin with glaciers. Begin with moving water, at lake-fed streams and springs. At headwaters, then – this gathering place for snowmelt or ground water finding its way through rock and sand. The lake, we say, is springfed or snowfed, emits a stream at its lower end – and this, too, this stream knows gravity. This is what we say: We say this river has life; we say this river is life; or we say this river is like life – it is more than itself. When life ends, the river goes on. Just as a mother has life, brings life, is more than woman. Just as God is more than life. So, the headwaters, a beginning, cold, a present holding past and future. . And it means – for us – every- thing. In spring: snow melts, dry hills run, dry stream beds fill, rush madly as rapids, leap from any high stone in its eagerness to become river, to bring life, to carry earth on its back. ~~~~~ Next: New Snow