Mother Ocean / Small Stream

[Rogers Creek trail by Kristina Kemps 

of Heart of Vancouver Island

Small stream, as you gambol down rocky cliffs,

burble and babble in swirling pools,

chuckle in the afternoon sunlight,

you meet obstacles

on your journey to the sea.

Drought dries up your stream bed for a time,

or logs crash down and clog your passage 

with mud and debris

it might take aeons to dislodge,

before you can flow freely

once again.

And yet you persevere,

with confidence,

with courage, with determination,

with gaiety,

because forward is the only direction you know,

and your life's work is 

to finally reach the sea.

You stay serene and focused,

because you know that,

whatever may befall you as you travel,

still, you are water,

each drop of you as necessary

to the cycle of life as the next.

You know, one day you will merge

with Mother Ocean,

will become one with her,

will immerse yourself in her immensity

for all time.

Already, even at such a distance,

you are one,

for, still and always, 

you are water.