Natural course

1. A beginning—lithe, light, alive— reflecting a moment, a rivulet accumulating in a movement. The sky, a hill, a stream— the child puts on a dress, delicate and beautiful. 2. The water gets murky; weeds and reeds impede its flow, and the whole assumes a fullness, an opacity with its own demands. 3. She has her own gifts, her own ways—her offspring are her main concerns. No civilization, no city and no farm survives without her. 4. She might have been a ballerina, an angel, but that was a dream. There’s much to do, too little, too much, too good, too bad. 5. The flow diminishes into salty mudflats, unnavigable reaches. From a distance, its light and shade are beautiful.