The upper Rio Grande in autumn color.
Yesterday I reflected on where our water comes from.
Today, Forrest takes us to where it may go.
I hope my children, and my children’s children, are always allowed the opportunity to appreciate how precious and beautiful our rivers are, and see first hand from where they come, and where to they go.
A Rivers Journey
by Forrest Getz
Out of the snow bank little droplets of water fall,
Entwining together, they start to flow,
Creeping, seeping, twisting their way down the mountainside,
They join the others; begin swelling in size,
A steady rush down the canyon.
As creeks join in, the river is amplified,
Roaring louder and louder,
Until – all at once – everything is calm;
A great expanse of still water – reflecting the mountains around.
A great wall, plugging the flow,
All but a place, where the water rushes thru,
And making its way again,
Building its force, as more creeks join the chorus,
The river dances its way down.
This river, the mighty Rio Grande,
Pushes down, into the San Luis valley,
Being diverted into the canals,
To raise the valleys livelihood,
But the heart of the river keeps beating.
Anglers walk the banks along,
And thru the shallows
In pursuit of the wily fish
Who thrive in the flowing lair.
Down, down into New Mexico,
Into the land of enchantment,
More of its flow enchanted away,
Into orchards with sweet, fresh fruit laden.
Cutting the south features of the Texas border,
Sharing its wealth between (Texas and Mexico),
Getting depleted — the only water in a parched land — as it moves along,
The river struggles with all it has left towards its goal:
But manmade folly has long from since
Given the Rio Grande power to flow
All but a muddy trickle -
To the Gulf of Mexico.
First Place poem
2007 River of Words Competition, Level III (Grades 7-9)
Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book