The only infinity on this Earth is the infinity of the questions without answers.”
-Autumn Brutyn
The River of Life
A poem by Autumn Brutyn
Sitting on the shore of the endless sea A question came on the wind to me A question so rhetorical, so subjective, so sweet, A question without an answer, forever incomplete Impossible to answer, and yet, it lingered on my thoughts: What can encompass life? Life, so complex, so filled with strife! A frog on the banks of a never-ending stream? One speck of dust in the golden sunbeam? No, not that, that’s not right. Because what of the endlessly multiplying people? Billions and billions, like rust spots on a steeple The infinite wisdom in a dragonfly’s eye? Each meaningless fleck of dirt in a rancid pigsty? No, not that, that’s not right. Because what of the young ones, the old, the bold? Each spirit, so unique, with hearts warm and cold… Can nothing emulate it, that tumultuous diversity? The way the Earth rumbles and shakes, all topsity-turvety? Maybe, maybe not, but one thing comes close. Because time will never cease to fly, I thought, just like the river chugging by The river, with its millions of glistening bubbles Bobbing and weaving, like children, no troubles The river, highway to the sea, comes close Because it ebbs and flows, angry before it calms, Has droughts and floods and never-ending qualms Pebbles shift and change, silt travels downstream Just like humanity, restless in their dream That river, roiling and bubbling, comes close Because... Life is imperfect Life is diverse Troubled Beautiful Never a curse Life is drowning Life is sweet Hopeful Dismal Take it from me: There never has been, and never will be, one true answer Life’s secrets are elusive, captivating, like a masked dancer But if you seek an answer, please, hear my plea: Turn to the river! The water! The path to the sea Because the river, To the sea Comes close
