The Undercurrent

The Undercurrent

Swimming in the shallows after 62 years
he reminisced of that first time,
when against his mother’s wishes,
he waded with childhood friends
into the river’s cool waters,
on a hot summer day.

No thoughts of time,
even the hour their mothers had appointed
for their return home.
Oblivious to its passage -
a blessing of youth.

Now on this day – drawn here -
time was his only companion -
and his preoccupation.
Those childhood friends unavailable.
One a hip replacement,
another Parkinson’s,
the third a heart condition,
the fourth having already lost the race.

The flowing waters lullaby his mind.
He could see the landscapes, the portraits,
painted by his life’s strokes -
dulled with the effects of age
occasionally touched up.

He could still sense that first time together,
unconcerned about the rushing waters,
the future no anxiety.
Now having come full cycle,
there was no reason to look forward
the current’s undertow
was enough for him to handle.

Ray Brown

Consider purchasing my book of poems,“I Have His Letters Still” – Poetry of Everyday Life ($11.95). Available on Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/RayBrownAmazon or purchase an autographed copy at http://poet-ray-brown.com