To Watch the River Flow

There were cloudless days Sunless days Without so much As a breeze in the air Days when the trees and flowers Slept As I watched the river Sitting frozen still These were my winter days When spring and summer and fall Had withdrawn To another time of life Once I believed this to be A time of peace and tranquility But that was a tale Told by younger men This was a time Of reflection Like the formless shapes That appeared in the icy waters A time to prepare In the most gracious of ways My goodbyes And fare-thee-wells These days I come here often Not to think of my failures But rather, to let them go To send them off And let them fade away These days I come here only To watch the river flow