“Casino Queen” reads the neon sign
on the far side of the river
Two small birds hitch a ride
on driftwood gliding by
They seem to sense the status of this intruder
studying them from ashore
The morning breeze welcomes me
as a paddle-wheeled boat
boasting of hourly cruises awaits the dawn
The illusion of her wheel’s backward dancing
lights lures me to a by-gone era
I break the hypnotic hold – uncertain if it is she who calls me
or the river
The river, which holds the secrets of the life’s mysteries
Hidden stories of glories and tragedies
The history of a nation between her banks
This river whose waters forge a nation from North to South
This river that has ushered forth life giving waters
through a nation’s infancy and adolescence
This river who has seen a nation’s growth and gains
Felt its progress and pains
And who, through it all, withholds not her bounty
through malice, guilt, pride, nor shame
but blesses all who embrace her shores
As I stand on her mighty banks
I seek the wisdom of time that courses through her veins
I lift prayers that her waters not become an eternal flow of tears
due to our refusal to hear and heed her warnings
Does the river survive because she knows these secrets
Will she share them with those willing to listen
Am I astute enough to discern her words
I watch a hue of azure blue work westward
as the St. Louis sky lifts her midnight veil
The Arch, which had loomed ominously behind me, now glistens
Trees and skyscrapers relinquish the horizon in unchallenged awe
Only this river, which boasts such regal splendor
despite such unrelenting waters that have claimed all given to her
could still remain queen
A church bell tolls in the distance signaling the half-hour
Birds begin to chirp
A small piece of driftwood has washed ashore
onto the riverbank near where I stand
I retrieve it
and continue to watch the Mississippi River
roll by