THE REAL TRIP

.
 Many times the trip was made,
 leaving Gulliver in the morning,
 crossing the Mississippi River
 late in the afternoon, then stopping
 for the night in Walker, Minnesota 
  
 I thought of the river,
 so gentle and tame here
 just gathering itself
  
 Before it reached the delta
 it would be joined by the 
 Ohio and Missouri Rivers
 and become a dramatic force
  
 I think of man
 We start slow 
 like the headwaters
 and quietly advance
 until, it seems,
 We become ancient and
 fierce like no other
  
 We have our ideas, which
 run wide and deep
 like the river
 sometimes spilling over
 causing flood and damage
  
 Eventually the river makes it
 through the estuary joining 
 all gathering waters 
 and becomes part of 
 The Gulf of Mexico
  
 In our part we have the
 collision and resolutions

 Our struggles and survivals 
 join others and become
 part of the roaring ocean of people
  
 Voices call after us, but 
 it is too late, we can
 never return as we become
 lost in our own roaring sea
  
 Stanski
 October 1, 2019 ^