Boulders rounded by the ravages of time;
Sinewy sluices weave down the valley floor.

I taste the cold crystal waters
and cherish all I have.
The diminishing of special places
is what scares me most right now.

And the river brings me life,
brings the sense of urgency
as it rises with the melting snow
and makes its way to the sea.

But we could not let it reach that destination
with our dams and other destruction;
we’re the parasite feeding off this living thing
in the name of building a nation.

But I’ll sit by this, the last living river
as if it’s everything I know,
and I’ll feel the peace within me
continue to grow and grow.

For the river brings me life;
the river makes it real.
The river is the only thing
that right now I want to feel.

So I’ll taste those cold clear waters
And arouse within me the respect
for what’s left that we haven’t ravaged,
and what I would expect

is a disappearing resource
a disappearing way of being
The rivers no longer run free.
And down them,

my freedom runs to the sea.