The river is both change and sameness
It’s an endless new beginning
from its birth in raindrops, rivulets and streams
through the rush of waterfalls, the sluggish
movement under bridges to its ceaseless
death in being swallowed by the salt of sea.
But for a dragonfly
its change is more from weather than from
flow of water.
The river is its home, a source for food, a library and grave.
It’s the dragonfly that’s changed, the river is the same.
A river is a book.
We read it, and we travel from its birth to death.
Meandering, cascading, we widen into lakes,
we grow and grow until at last we reach its end,
and feel like dying in the waves.
But when we shelf it, dogeared loved and broken
words remain unchanged and we are changed
like dragonflies.
From a hike in Norway
Today we have a guest at dVerse poetics who prompts us to write about rivers. It could be as metaphor, it could be mythology. The choice is yours. Come and tell us of rivers.
—-
March 21, 2017
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Oh my goodness. This.is.good. You really outdid yourself with this poem. “broken words remain unchanged and we are changed
like dragonflies.”…This is splendid Bjorn.Words cannot say.
beautiful poetry and image
So Beautiful 🙂 Absolute Lyrical Splendour!
(*^‿^*) ✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ღ˚ •。* ˚ ˚✰˚ ˛…Happy World Poetry Day…~ ★* 。 ღ˛° 。✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫ (*^‿^*)
Enthralling!! Wonderful connect of water, flow, life, lakes & sea…..superb!! 🙂
Yeah. I’m just going to bask in my stunned silence over this poem. Beautiful!
I admire the twin themes of sameness and changing, for both the dragonfly and the river. Words will always remain, but we are forever changed like dragonflies !
I wrote men before reading yours, & found them quite similar; smile–consistent shared themes perhaps–both of us aware of the river’s demise as it chokes in brine–yet there is a renewal as well.
This is exactly the kind of poem I imagined you might write when I thought up this prompt. It moves like a River. It blends in the mythological Dragonfly and has metaphor hiding in deep pools to refresh us along the way as we contemplate beginnings and endings and the whole circle of things. Epic. Thank You.
This is exquisite poetry. I once read that all the waters of the world are one, and your journey from raindrop to ocean reminded me of that. Once to the ocean, drawn up into the clouds and the cycle renews. Thank you for this!
Like a book… so many stories down the river
Beautiful, I love the idea of the river as a book :o)
Books and dragonflies – right up my river, Björn! I’ve had to remove my dragonfly pendant as the chain irritated my neck but I;’m looking for a replacement chain. The group of infant schools I volunteer with is called The Dragonfly Foundation. We have dragonflies in our garden that come up from the Broads! And the house is full of books!
My favourite lines:
‘The river is its home, a source for food, a library and grave.
It’s the dragonfly that’s changed, the river is the same’
and
‘But when we shelf it, dogeared loved and broken
words remain unchanged and we are changed
like dragonflies’.
Loving the contrariness of this in the river, time and the journeys of both. Wonderful natural images to buttress the underlying theme of change and no change. Excellent!
I liked the idea of the the river ceaselessly dying into the sea.
My goodness this is good! ❤️ Especially love; “A river is a book. We read it, and we travel from its birth to death. Meandering, cascading, we widen into lakes, we grow and grow until at last we reach its end,and feel like dying in the waves.” Beautifully executed.
I LOVE the idea of its “birth in raindrops.” Perfect.
Constantly changing and replenishing, the river is a source of wonder. Thanks for capturing that notion.
Never thought of the river as a book. Though it can teach us much, loved the analogy to something I treasure a lot – books. Rivers can be books and shelved in thought. Nice one Bjorn!
Spectacular! My new face, especially the last stanza. Oh my goodness. Just gorgeous.
Oh, the ending has left me speechless!
Loving rivers, I love this poem too, which captures everything that is true of them and then goes further.
this write is something to ponder. natural water forms die because we change our environment, like a dragonfly change. we need to act strong on conserving our natural environment life how we shelf our books to preserve. nice thoughts! i hope i did get your message right. 🙂
I like the way this poem flows from river, to life, to books. Do we flow like rivers? Constantly changing, yet the same?
Beautiful lines, bjorn! I especially love this line, The river is both change and sameness..
yes we are like dragonflies…wonderful!
My favorite poem of yours hands down. you out did yourself in wisdom and contemplation.
drop by drop you’ve built a beautiful river or bourne as we also call it Björn
Simply to contemplate by a river will incite one’s muse…this is breathtaking in its range of meaning.
Wonderful imagery; you’ve certainly captured the endless nature of a river. Even when it dies, it is born again.
Beautiful reflections. I can certainly relate to your concluding stanza. The poem has a gentle flow like a cascading river.
Your river poem is truly alive… both book and lore; flesh and myth… this is amazing work.
i would love to agree with them. you opened the poem with strong exquisite lines and your closing is just sooo good. *hands down*
This is, quite simply put, an amazing piece.
“The river is its home, a source for food, a library and grave.”
To bring together the river and the dragonfly….and then this sentence which leads to all the rest……
wonderful!
It is good contention to play contrast and similarities that can bring out the changes that follow. It gets the story going in many directions!
Hank
Beautiful. I loved the line about the river, ‘its ceaseless
death in being swallowed by the salt of sea,’ but also love the last stanza and its allusions.
This captivates and carries your readers along – floating amongst the gems.