The river

by RODNEY WILLIAMS

an anaphora from the Tarwin River system

The river between ridges in a blue eucalypt haze

The river water    my fingertips    nerve-ends    so cold
The river clear as a conscience within creeks in its gullies
The river bubbling    on rocks    burbling    down rapids
The river that kept drawing my heart towards whirlpools
The river blackfish    eels    ducks    platypus there
The river where I first hooked a minnow as a youngster
The river valley dotted with cut-off meanders

The river a blue wriggle on my map though not atlas

The river prone to floods most years over flats
The river glinting with sunsets if not specks of gold
The river still runs south in hottest dry summers
The river reflects an egret    legs    body    neck    beak
The river beside train tracks now turning rusty
The river red gums give nest holes to eastern rosellas
The river with a trestle bridge so long admired

The river which bore witness to my bluest days in youth

The river more turbid past its east-west branch junction
The river flanked by a highway recently upgraded
The river    pump    dam    pipe    kitchen sink    drain
The river a border between Bunurong & Brataualung
The river still flowing    flowing    flowing onwards
The river meadows where anglers cast for estuary perch
The river pushing my spirit forwards    relentless    endless

The river makes its brown way to that bluest blue sea