River smoothes over us hard cases

The river smoothes over us hard cases.
In the spring, it is wild and dangerous.
But summer reflects upon us cautiously.
By fall, we are weak, diminished, stagnant.
The ice of winter traps us, first at the edge.
Then, you may walk across, smooth again.

I remember the girls in the water of summer.
I forget that I was wild and dangerous.
I think of my friends in reflections of the fall.
I feel the bitter bite of the cold in the winter.
I brave the thin ice around frozen banks.

Anger wells up from the spring's runoff.
Violence in the mood of warm reflection.
Falling into pools of stagnant water.
Living on the edge where the ice forms.
But the river smoothes over us hard cases.

--- Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com