A River  

By Ken Grace 

Where this thing ends

and that begins

is not certain.

Not just the obvious,

a river,

but happiness and certainty.

When did fear end,

when did you decide to shed

one life

and when did your new life begin?

What if it has not yet begun,

or what if it has already

begun and ended,

and you didn’t notice

and now you have started

yet another new life and failed,

also,

to notice that?

When does a poem begin?

It may be long before

the first word appears;

it may have been thinking itself

for some time

before the poet sees it

and it may be

that it never ends,

or ends well before

the poet realises

it has ended,

and so continues

long after

it has served its purpose.

What seems obvious may not be,

or what seems obvious now

may not have been

apparent earlier,

and what seems obvious now

may later prove

to have been a mirage.

Where does ending end,

or perhaps that has happened

too, and again

we did not notice,

but either way

there may be nothing more to say,

or everything,

and we will not know

until we get there.

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Ken Grace is a poet and the partner of ANZCAL Master Coach Bhavna Champion.  Bhavna shared it recently at a coaching gathering.  We thank Ken for his generous permission in allowing us to publish this poem in our newsletter.