I Am The River Poem by Harjot Singh Khurana

CHILDHOOD: EARLY DAYS

I AM THE RIVER,
STUBBORN, INNOCENT AND PURE AS A GLACIER.
SLOWLY AND STEADILY, I CRAWL AHEAD,
EVEN THOUGH I DON'T WANT TO GO, I WANT TO BE HERE,
HERE IN THE MOUNTAINS I DESCEND FROM,
THE MOUNTAINS WHO GAVE ME BIRTH, THE MOUNTAINS I LOVE.
BUT THE TIME NUDGES FORWARD AND SO DO I,
TOWARDS THE SLOPES, THEY WANT ME TO GO.
THOUGH, MORE ADJUSTINGLY NOW, AS WATER I TAKE NEW SHAPES,
BUT I LOVE TO FIND MY OWN WAYS AND SO I DO.
BESIDES ME WAS ANOTHER GLACIER, MY BROTHER I MUST SAY,
WITH WHOM I LOVED TO PLAY ALONG, BUT HE ALSO GOES IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
THOUGH SMALL AS A STREAM, BUT POTENT AS ALL SAY.
I TAKE THE SEDIMENTS OF MEMORIES ALONG.
I AM THE RIVER.

YOUTH: AT MY PRIME

I AM THE RIVER.
FAST, FURIOUS, STRONG AND IN MY PRIME NOW.
MORE UNPREDICTABLE, I NOW SHOULDER THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF HUGE BOULDERS ALONG.
SOME PEBBLES OF MEMORIES I LEFT BEHIND, AND SOME I CARRY BEYOND.
THOUGH NOT AS SHARP AS ONCE THEY CAME TO ME.
UP AND DOWN I PLAY, FORMING SPLENDID FALLS IN MY WAY.
MORE COMPLETE I BECOME, AS I GATHER STONES OF ACHIEVEMENTS FROM VARIOUS VALLEYS ALONG.
WITH TURBULENCE OF MY YOUTH AND WITH WAVES OF LOVE,
I SPEED AHEAD LEAVING BEHIND EVEN THE SIGHT OF MOUNTAINS I LOVE.
UNEXPECTED AND RARE BUT I SOMETIMES CHANGE COURSE,
HURTING THOSE WHO MATTER A LOT.
WELL SOMETIMES I CHANGE COURSE KNOWINGLY FOR GOOD,
TO MEET A RIVER UNKNOWN TO ME,
BUT SOMETHING I KNOW, THAT WE HEAD FOR THE SAME DESTINATIONS.
SO AT THAT SANGAM AS THEY SAY,
WE COME AS TWO BUT GO AS ONE,
AND UNDISTINGUISHABLE AND INDESPENSABLE WE CONTINUE FOREVER.
BUT HERE AM I, ALL ALONE NOW,
THE ONE WHO STARTED WITH ME, IN HIS PRIME AS WELL,
BUT HE CUTS THROUGH IN A VALLEY OF HIS OWN.
THOUGH FAR BEYOND MY SIGHT,
BUT I STILL LOVE TO HEAR HIS STORIES AS I GO ALONG.
I AM THE RIVER.

AGED: CALMLY COUNTING MY DAYS

I AM THE RIVER,
CALM, COMPOSED BUT HUGE I MUST SAY.
THOUGH NOT AS WAVY AND FAST AS I ONCE USED TO BE.
THOSE WHO DID NOT SEE ME IN MY PRIME,
MIGHT NOT EVEN BELIEVE THE FORCE I HAD AT THAT TIME.
BUT MY STORY CONTINUES AND SO DOES MY JOURNEY,
TOWARDS MY CLIMAX, MY DESTINATION DESTINED.
THOSE BOULDERS ONCE SEEMED SO LIGHT,
TODAY I CAN'T EVEN CARRY PEBBLES ALONG.
THOSE MEMORIES I GATHERED KNITTED THEIR DELTAS BEHIND.
NOW IT IS ONLY A HANDFUL I CAN RECITE AND ENCHANT UPON.
ONE OF THEM IS THE JOKUND COMPANY I HAD IN MY CHILDHOOD.
MY JOURNEY, SO HAPPENING AND LIVELY IT WAS AND NO REGRETS I WOULD EVER HAVE.
THIS JOURNEY THROUGHOUT, PERHAPS WORTH IT.
PERHAPS NOTHING MORE I WOULD SAY,
AS THE JOURNEY I TALKED UPON,
ENDS HERE IN THE OCEANS THRONE.
THIS OCEAN, ENDLESS IT SEEMS, AND ENDLESS IT IS INDEED.
I HAVE BECOME A PART OF IT AND NOW I CAN'T BE DISTINUISHED UPON.
THOUGH THE COLOR AND SHAPE I POSSESS NOW, NOT OF MY OWN.
YET IN A WAY I AM THE SAME AS I STARTED ONCE.
THOUGH FOR A LONG TIME I HAD BEEN KNOWN,
BUT HERE NOBODY KNOWS THAT I EVEN EXISTED ONCE UPON.
AND I MERGE WITH SEVERAL OTHERS.
I GO WANDERING TO THE SHORES AND SING ALONG
I AM THE RIVER,
I AM THE RIVER……

BY HARJOT SINGH KHURANA