The Flow
The river flows down the waterfall.
It hits the rocks, flows onwards.
It’s path widens
The speed increases
Rocky bed
Making it harder to flow
The river picks up alluvium
Meanders, forms a path
The river bangs
From side to side
Extending curves
Lo and behold the course of the river
The widest and fastest course
The low depths
Cold and deeper than ever before.
Through Mali and Timbuktu
Through the great plain of the Niger,
The lands the Niger passes are great and worldly.
It joins with its brothers and sisters
From the north and west
Which forms a family of confluence
The ox bow lakes look so cheerless
As it passes them by.
They are cut off from
The route of the family.
Alluvium destroys the confluence
Water a drink, which will never go out of style
Quenches my thirst
Most important element to our lives,
For us and for the living beings
Elephants to buffalos
Even the buffalo herder
Hot, tired and weary traveler
Pure cool water flows down his throat
Life makes sense again.
Life revolves around the water,
Elephants travel days and nights
and reach the source of life.
Water brings war
The elephants attack human farms
For food
The humans fight back.
Empires want to control
The water
And its course
Man fights man
Brother fights brother
For water
animals bathe.
Some animals kill.
Water changes muddy
And bloody
A clean river changed forever over the years.
The dirt and filth.
Fish stop swimming.
People around the river feel full
Heat increases thirst
Water gets scarce.
Water is life
The river sustains life
And sometimes brings death