My youngest son is rushing
from the sharp hills of adolescence
over rocks and stones, always onwards
like a river to an unfathomable ocean
His thoughts are deep
his soul ancient, older than the flow
kept within his banks
He bickers down valleys
sometimes stilled, mostly calm
until an overflow of joy
forces a burst, a breaking of the levee
and he talks, oh he talks
of his passions, fears and hopes
as a waterfall speaking to the wind
Who will dive into his depths
see the treasures within clear waters
bring them to the surface
for the world to see
Copyright © 2020 Kim Whysall-Hammond
Stanza 2 References “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” By Langston Hughes
The Cheesesellers Wife 
I can almost hear that “waterfall speaking to the wind.”
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😉
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Thank you Sherry, that was the line that came at the last moment and completed the poem for me.
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May he be a good man. :)
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Thank you. I believe he will be, he loves and cares for people deeply.
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:)
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What a wonderful way to describe your son entering adulthood, Kim! I love the phrase ‘sharp hills of adolescence’, a powerful way to describe a rocky time, and the lines:
‘He bickers down valleys
sometimes stilled, mostly calm
[…]
‘and he talks, oh he talks
of his passions, fears and hopes
as a waterfall speaking to the wind’.
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Thank you Kim! Oh, he certainly bickers…….. ;)
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:)
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You are lucky to have a child of that age who talks to you! So many don’t let us look into their depths. (K)
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Well, he talks to us now at nineteen —- we got lots of sighs and grunts at eighteen!
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I had one talker and fighter (still is at 35) and one who plays everything close to the vest (also still at 26)–she’s a great listener though.
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My eldest is 23 and always has been a talker. His teenage ‘strength’ was slamming doors and (once) punching a hole in one.
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I’m smiling–my younger brother once punched a hole in our wall.
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:)
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So wonderful to be young and see all the fearsome possibilities of the world and what one might explore and achieve within it. Breaking the levee – necessary to leave childhood behind. I see this explosive growth within my teenage grandchildren.
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It’s marvellous isn’t it?
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It is.
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Wow Kim! This is powerful! I loved it! <3 <3
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Thank you — that is much appreciated.
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