The Tale Of The Sparkling White River Poem by Gert Strydom

At the sparkling white river
that cuts its way through the earth,
some green reeds grew in bushes into the water.

Tranquillity and the magic
of water, sun and wind
was the spirit that dwelt in the reeds.

a Really ugly god appeared and started to cry,
as no beautiful nymph
would set an eye on him.

He washed his face in the water
to try and transfix some of its healing magic
to himself and washed his face again,

but the image reflected upon the gentle pool
remained the same
and deeper into the water he went.

Half blind by his crying,
he stumbled into the reeds
and walk still deeper in,

to hide away from the creatures
that lived upon the water
and dwelt in the sparkling stream.

There was power in his tears
and where they fell upon the reeds,
they were cut from the stems.

To Pan on that day,
the river and the reeds
came as a blessing.

With reeds in his hands
he walked to the shore
and the setting and sounds did something to him.

He cut the reeds into pipes
of different lengths
with notches and holes

and blew life in to them
and to this very day,
that instrument bears his name.