The Big Sioux Poem by Chris Taylor

You wind yourself through my town
Giving your flow and taking your space
A frozen platform you provide for my footfall
A living liquid tranquility my countenance has seen

Malevolence free you decide to cover the bike path
No great stroke of judgement
Just an inability to control what comes from the north
As if a fly can hold back an elephants charge

My lips said no curse when basements flooded
I raised no fist to your unwanted bounty
My praise was of our quiet times
The times in which your rhythmic tones coaxed a shoreline catch

As the season was harsh I did not forget
The feel of my bare feet standing on your shore
Cottonwoods arching over to provide my shade
Bullheads gently rising to gulp the bounty you afford

To the old railroad bridge I run to meet you
My notebook jots our time together
My grey hair has shared wind with you
And our time spent is never too long and never too short

O Big Sioux carry with you my dream
Sojourn with me in earnest
Be my mosquito’s sting and my urban refuge
Let’s forge together our path with a child-like wonder

My Big Sioux carries the soul of me