Riverside Poem by Kelly Boutin

I used to long for the river's side
Want to sleep on a riverbed
I used to wander on the river shore
And wade into its depth
I felt healed and peaceful
I felt something deep
I felt so close to not feeling
I didn't want to leave

I was in love with the thought of dreaming
But scared to chase those dreams
I wanted to to fall asleep and
Leave that whole place
I lived so much in that dream
I was chained in place
The river ran upstream
But I never chased it
I knew there was more to dreaming
But I was too afraid

A few years ago, maybe more
I woke up wide awake
I'd been chasing fairytales by the shore
And stumbled across the lake
By the confluence of two streams
One which went away
I could finally see the edge of my dreams
Over the tops of the trees



I left my sad self by the river side
I couldn't bear to stand around waste away and cry
She said, "You don't belong here and neither so do I"
I left my sadness
I had better things to go and do in life

I held her hand and she said
"Save a spot for me
As you chase the sun into the setting sea"
One day I will come back and I hope to see
She has left to find herself in me