river girl

I learned to navigate geography by the rivers. Slicing cities in two, coming from unusual springs, ever leading onward. Wearing down the rocks through eternal time. The German Rhine, the quiet Paris Seine. The Themes, the serpent, winding its way through London with its cool green name.

I was thinking about them today in class, as we discussed Emerson, the Great Transparent Eyeball, with his ideas about the sacred peace of natural things. I thought about the Potomac, my own river. Its long, sad history; its slick, oily waters; but also of the winter, when it freezes into great, creaking, mighty slabs, and it stands with a power and a peace.

I drove home late this evening, not a moment too soon. I was drained to my very last. But on my drive, I opened the window, and as I rounded a curve, I smelled pine. It called to me. I longed for home.