{"id":2349,"date":"2026-06-21T22:06:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T22:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2349"},"modified":"2026-06-21T22:06:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T22:06:00","slug":"poem-questions-for-a-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2349","title":{"rendered":"Poem: Questions for a River"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Confluence of the North and East Forks of the Lewis River<\/i><\/p>\n

Two Forks Wildlife Area, Washington<\/i><\/p>\n

1.\tWhere are your headwaters?<\/p>\n

\tOn the western slope of a fiery throat.<\/p>\n

2.\tWhere do you end?<\/p>\n

\tThere is no end, there is only flow.<\/p>\n

3. How do you flow?<\/p>\n

\tUpriver, dammed\u2014<\/p>\n

\tbut here, at last, the full body of myself.<\/p>\n

4. Who swims in your waters?<\/p>\n

\tSalmon and salmon peoples.<\/p>\n

5. Who else swims in your waters?<\/p>\n

\tLamprey and longfin, mussel and midge,<\/p>\n

\tmother and daughter, father and son.<\/p>\n

6.\tWhere is your voice?<\/p>\n

\tBeneath propeller and keel, my chorus is strong\u2014<\/p>\n

\tthe powerboats have not always muffled my song.<\/p>\n

7. Who sings from your shore?<\/p>\n

\tHave you heard the belted kingfisher\u2019s morning trill?<\/p>\n

\tThe song sparrow\u2019s lyric in the evening still?<\/p>\n

\tThe treep and click of the dipper seeking her fill?<\/p>\n

8. How do you rage?<\/p>\n

\tIn the storm\u2019s sweet fury, or<\/p>\n

\tpatiently, for all bridges and levees eventually fail.<\/p>\n

9. What have you learned?<\/p>\n

\tFlow is the highest form of being.<\/p>\n

10. And what have you learned?<\/p>\n

\tWe all are part of the savaged sea.<\/p>\n

Simmons Buntin is the founder and editor-in-chief of Terrain.org, and author of \u201cSatellite: Essays on Fatherhood\u201d and \u201cHome, Near and Far.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Deseret News archives: American Cancer Society report started the move to health message on smoking<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Confluence of the North and East Forks of the Lewis River. 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