Our lives are like a river;
We emerge into the light
Like a spring rising from the earth,
Our lives unknown.
Like a trickle of water,
Skipping in every direction,
Uncertain in which way to go.
We join with others,
Until the trickle becomes a brook,
And our lives take shape.
Through childhood
And into the stream of youth,
Still exploring,
Still finding new directions,
Until wisdom finds the river.
That river guides us through our life,
A life that has its ups and downs,
And the occasional crash
As it falls over a cliff
Into a deep pool below.
Life can be gentle
As the river flows quietly,
Flowing gently through the glory
That life and nature have prepared.
That life now slowing into old age,
To that delta where all is calm.
Until that wonderful day
When your life ends,
And becomes one
With the infinity of the oceans.
Watching all as you wander the world,
Into which you were born.