the fossil record
<<4>>
Every River Is a River of No Return
In
River of No Return
Marilyn
Monroe and Robert Mitchum
raft
down a river
boiling
with coffee percolator fury.
I
was too young to appreciate Marilyn
as
wild ride,
but
the notion of going so far
you
can never come back
whacked
me like a Billy club.
Once
launched
you’re
committed,
no
turning back,
no
getting out of it.
Now
I know every river
flows
one direction only,
shallow
mud snake
or
white-water boil,
you’re
being swept away
whether
you push off from shore
by
choice
or
stay on the banks
watching
the water flow by.
David Thornbrugh