12 Jan A River Rises out of Eden
Posted at 01:38h
in Poems
A river rises out of Eden, to the west
Where in halcyon days I took my rest,
Until I was the first who ever saw
The wretched earth open its maw,
It drinks and drinks my brother’s death,
Of all my sons, and the sons of Seth.
A river rises out of Eden,
I have to go back.
Firstborn in every sense the word,
If Abel gave what God preferred,
And I cannot reap, I will herd —
The reason why was I was spared, a mystery,
Dark-drunk blood I destined in calumny
Beyond the reign of the blue-green springs,
I wear the crowns of many desert kings
But none of it has meaning to me
As much as that time-bleached memory.
A river rises out of Eden,
I have to go back.
What have I done, what have I done
I faced the moon, I shamed the sun
If I must wander, I will run —
Upstream, I dream where the rivers meet,
The current rips and drags back my feet
I pass where gold and bdellium grows,
Singing songs for God only my mother knows;
I hope I find where the gardens weep
And night angels call where brothers keep.
A river rises out of Eden,
I have to go back.
Every river returns to its own lake
Over again, a journey I still make;
If I cannot give, I will take —