The River
Today I talked to my therapist about
my encounter with a North Sumatran river:
how its gentle strength has
convinced me that there is a way to
gracefully steer life other than
through magic
or divine providence.
On New Year’s Eve, in front of
an altar and a burning effigy
I offered the devas my gifts:
the longings of a sorcerer,
the lacerations of a martyr;
each body I laid down, gently,
to be returned to dust
as I embraced my fellow pilgrims in relief
resolved to stop paddling upstream
and patiently wait for the ocean.