River song
Caught between the stony banks
the river now flows meekly
to whatever sea awaits it.
It bears the sun, the mist, the rain
as it endures without complaint
the lonely angler in his boat
and the fat merchant ships
transporting coal across the world.
It flows without comment or speculation.
But once, beset by some dark fever,
its placid waters rose
and broke its stone confinements.
It steamed with swollen passion:
hunger, greed and pride,
and swallowed fields and roads;
it entered homes and barns
and conquered churches.
It covered and embraced the broken land.
My love, I am the river waiting,
becalmed and certain in my trust -
and I am darkness dreaming,
bound by storms of rage and lust.
No longer caught between my banks:
these sentinels of stone and obligation,
I have become the one that you have tied
between your laughter and your touch,
and I now carry you, as you have harnessed me.