Drip, drip,

Drip, drip;

An icicle tip

Feeds a tiny spring below.

Drip, drip,

Drip, drip;

Carried away

By the water’s gentle flow,

Effortlessly gliding

Around objects to and fro;

A rock here,

A stump there,

Form a meandering path

Winding its way

In search of a sister–

Separate tributaries fallen from the same tree;

Mere capillaries in the stream of life.

Two finally meet

And then another

And another.

With strength in numbers they carry forth

Babbling together as they travel.

Having no need for detours,

Rocks and stumps are hurdled over;

Each triumph is greeted with gurgles and splashes of laughter.

Love is nurtured and they flow like veins toward a common goal.

Further along, other families fall in.

Members mingle in a roar of introductions as everyone tries to talk at once;

Not until all are on even ground does the din dim.

Still more join in the journey from far-away places and their numbers swelled–

One river born from many streams,

Rolled in one blaze of blinding light.

Awed into silence, a higher power calls each to unite and follow;

None can ignore the call of the Current.

The love pulsating surges through every one;

They pick up the beat and flow forward drawing strength from one another

Until each comes to his destined course and is sent outward on his mission.

The river branches and reaches toward the surrounding land

Like oxygen-fed arteries carrying rich nourishment.

Life is sustained along the path as

Creatures of the forest

And photosynthesized friends are fed.

The outreach continues

With splintered streams

That eventually whittle down to

Trickling trails of life

Seeping into the ground.

Mettle is tested below the surface

With blind floundering

Hoping to be led toward Spring.

At last! Spring is found

And again emerges from the depths

To greet the newcomers from above;

Drip, drip,

Drip, drip,

Drip, drip.