The great river flows on,
Over stones washed smooth with time.
The river that we swam in
When it was just a stream.

And we have known each other well,
So many times
And then forgotten,
So we could love again, once more
For the first time.
Like perennial flowers,
Sleeping through the winter
Warm in dreams of last summer,
Waiting to bloom
New in the Spring.

And the great river flows on
Over stones washed smooth with time.
The river that we swam in
When it was just a stream.

And the current pulls us on
And I fear for you in the undertow.
I reach for you
Through the water's icy embrace,
And see your face for a moment,
Then darkness covers us.
So silent now.

The great river flows on,
Over stones washed smooth with time.
The river that we swam in
When it was just a stream.

And somewhere off beyond the river's effluence,
Beyond a million tomorrows
Or yesterdays
We'll meet and I will love you better,
Once again ...
And we will know each other then,
Just as now and before.
A dream faintly remembered,
Alone at last,
At peace.

The great river flows on,
Over stones washed smooth with time.
The river that we swam in
When it was just a stream.

© John W. Chapman 1996