Today I went on a walk
Down by the river,
The river who is like my secret
Who helped me heal
And helped me find happiness,
And it was rather emotional,
As if reuniting with an old friend
After not seeing them in quite some time.
I climbed over the branch entwined wall,
Walked past the old creaky tree with a deserted swing hanging from it,
Tread upon the fresh grass that had come up during March,
Heard the family of wrens singing their song,
Weaves in and out of the nestles
Until I got to the spot.
That spot.
It brought back so many memories,
Some that filled my heart with happiness
And some that tore my heart apart.
I looked up at it,
My old throne,
On the part of the trunk which separated into two thick branches.
My old home,
Big enough to fit me
And small enough to fit just me.
I placed my feet on the step-like dents in the trunk and made my way up.
Once I was settled I looked down,
And sighed.
I know not if this sigh is out of bereavement
Or out of happiness
Or perhaps nostalgia
All I know is it brought me back
To the days when I was not as strong
And not as sure-footed
And would come here to get away
From the terrors of the world and of my house
And would look down into the river flowing beside it
And try see the fish rising
To take my mind of those awful words I heard
And those awful bruises upon my delicate skin
And those awful decisions I had to make
And you.
I used to sit here for hours.
I made a few friends;
The owl that lived in the tree,
The squirrels that were about,
The cat that would come down every so often.
I also met you here,
Chasing after your dog,
Bennie was his name I think,
But instead of finding your dog you found me,
In tears.
That summer we spent every day together
And I thought "this is what happiness is"
But little did I know
The very next day after that thought
You had planned to push me into the river to take over my throne.
It was all an act.
My trusty friend of a cat had tripped you up and you twisted your ankle
And oh how thankful I am of her.
So once you left I had to start my healing process once again,
Start counting the fish again
And talking to the owl
And crying until my eyes were raw and bloodshot.
This river.
My dear river.
The one that I swam in when I felt strong enough to fight the current.
The one I fell into one day trying to jump across.
The one that helped me not die.
So as you would've guessed,
This river is quite a tremendous river,
Possessing all these healing qualities,
And when I went down there today,
Just as if I was visiting an old friend,
Instead of spilling my problems to the owl
I looked into the water
And said
"Thank you".
529 words.
