The Lake Is in the River

lake above, lake below

Montreal Sunrise, 6 July 2025 — photo by the poet

The lake is in the river
And the river in the lake.
The sun is hidden in the clouds.
The clouds are serene with joy.
My prayer hangs above my head,
The birds adorning it.

Let me not to the marriage
Of lake and river admit
False sentiments or sediments
To settle fraudulently
And obscure the genuine
Freshness deep down morning

Because the lake and river
Are one in the fresh flowing,
Refreshing the truth of the day,
Namely that we have been named
In secret ceremonies,
Named, renamed in silence,

And joyously named again.
Love is not love that alters
When the sun finishes rising
But continues on throughout
The day above the river,
The day deep in the lake.

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