Old Man River

Poem by Lisa Brothers Arbisser

The great Mississippi keeps rolling along
The Old Man scarce aware of the teaming throng
Struggling to plunder and control
His awesome power, his gentle soul

Native man understood his connection
His behavior was not at his election
He had omniscient ancestors to answer to
His sense of certainty today’s man never knew

For so long settlers saw resources at their command
There for the taking in this “new” land
The River, an opportunity and a barrier to be tamed
Drove development unabashed and unashamed

What nature provides Godless man will plunder
We over-fish, we pollute, is it any wonder
That our River came to a sorry state
Where the laws of the land were needed to create
Checks and balances to reverse damage done?
We don’t think of ancestors but of daughters and sons

It is clear from On High “you must be good stewards of my land”
Lest you sew the seeds of destruction by thine own hand
Mark Twain knew the naïve could do the right thing
While the wily are driven by pursuit of bling-bling

Can science and government make us comply
To maintain precious resources in healthy supply?
Stay aware; a wild stallion who’s broken to ride
May serve our purpose but something valuable’s died

We no longer see our River as essential to life
Traffic jams over bridges cause us our strife
We think we’ve conquered the elements until
He overflows artificial embankments and we add up the bill

Romance is history, only pale copies remain
Riverboat gambling’s not for the colorful and bold but the bored and the lame
Magnificent sunsets still reflect with ethereal power
But they’re hard to appreciate at sixty miles an hour

Old Man River’s an artery for commerce still
But except for barges and lock and dam crews He’s a frill
The wealthy can play with their boats and their skis
The “less fortunate” swim and fish without fees
That we won’t be poisoned is a matter of faith
Though accidents happen we’re usually safe

If we take a few moments from our work-a-day mode
Our psyche is soothed and our anxiety slowed
As we gaze on his silken surface watching currents lap shore
And enjoy the resurgent bald eagles soar

I hope we’ve begun again to realize that the beauty and majesty we see with our eyes
Is the part that is fleeting and only skin deep
It’s the fabric of life which we must keep
From eroding – not just the banks of the River
It’s our commitment to the greater good we must deliver

Maybe our River reflects more than the sun
He mirrors the mores of society on the run
Though he flows like our veins in but one direction
He holds past and present for our dissection

These are vital lessons to be learned
And all the world should be concerned
No River Styx, our River’s pulse is bounding
But don’t be deaf to alarms sounding
For we are one with sea and land
And our future, and the Old Man’s, go hand in hand