45. SISTERS OF THE RIVER

We speak of sisters and brothers

Thereby binding our hearts and our lives

To the most sacred things we know

To One human family --

Which sometimes tends to confuse things

When one is referring to, for instance,

Two beautiful young women

Who actually are sisters born and raised together

Like Rebecca and Jenny.

Oregon river rascals

Almost as wild as the daiseys and blackberries

That permeate our lives

Almost as wild as the prolific mistletoe that clings

To all the dark oaks

Almost as wild as the fields of mint

That fills our lungs and hearts with rapture

Almost as wild as the coyotes that sing

In the night from the fields and forests

Almost as wild as the Salmon that run these rivers

As the Eagles and hawks circling high,

As the deer that watch us from the trees,

As the possum, as the otter, as the seal...

To see them at the river so naturally

Is to perceive a harmony of nature

So all-incompassing

It could fill anyone with passion

With poetry