You ever notice that when the river
Rises, it gains but a mere sliver
At a time of the ancient enduring banks
And gives no cause for fear to the piney massed ranks
That spread horizonward on and before?

Though the rising of the river shakes the world from crust to core?

That when the levees tire, it is slowly
And even in their weakness fail not wholly
But wage a doomed war against the tide
Out of habit and a stubborn pride
The chosen course unwilling to allow?

I think I see the river rising, now.

You know that time alone withstands
The rising river’s grasping hands
And even the earth must submit to change
Permit the fates it to rearrange
When the river rises at the last?

Burst the banks; flood the past!

Photo by @speederson