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    River's Song: A Poem
    River's Song: A Poem
    River's Song: A Poem
    Ebook61 pages21 minutes

    River's Song: A Poem

    By Calliope Braintree

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Written as an homage to “The Thunder, Perfect Mind” but in the rhyming, indomitable voice of a modern urban river, this long narrative poem portrays the passion, plight, and ultimate triumph of nature.

    Industrialism has poisoned and killed many lakes and rivers. Their stories are similar. Many have been polluted to the point of catching fire. But this is the unique voice of the Chicago River. Sometimes raging, sometimes sobbing, frequently serene, this Voice of the Great Goddess, speaking in her River aspect, flows slowly on, always different, always the same.

    Calliope Braintree loves her River, and this “environmentally lyrical”...”important poetic piece” is her heart-wrenching tribute to it. Despite River’s own long history of abuse, she absorbed Calliope's pain and self-loathing, enabling her to recover and become her Real Self: a writer! The protagonist of “To Hear the Rest More Clearly” comes to life, stepping off the page to write this, which, in turn, became the basis for her tour de force of anger and forgiveness, “Killing Joe Sabazius.” For Calliope, Art imitates Life and Life imitates Art in equal measure. Compellingly multi-layered and self-reflexive, the series explores rape culture from both the personal and planetary perspective; and this poem is the point on which it all balances. A part of both novels, “River’s Song” stands very much on its own.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBlue Bus Books
    Release dateMar 24, 2014
    ISBN9780991410019
    River's Song: A Poem
    Author

    Calliope Braintree

    You wanna know what I am?I'm a super-heroine!A Warrior!Ha ha!OK. It's true. I don't actually do battle with anything outside my own head. But that's pretty revolutionary if you think about it. You see, I have certain qualities that enable me to break through the mental conditioning that's imposed on us by society...qualities most people have had "educated" out of them.I've learned to hear the silenced voices of Nature. And I'll tell you what. It was exactly the same as FINALLY learning to hear my own poor stifled voice. Seriously.I was invisible. Ignored. Dismissed. Treated like a pile of garbage. And look at me now! A published author!I bet you could become your Real Self too. Read my books for a bit of inspiration, then connect with me on Facebook. We'll talk!

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      Book preview

      River's Song - Calliope Braintree

      River’s Song

      Calliope Braintree

      Published by Blue Bus Books

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2014 Anne V. Pyterek

      ISBN 978-0-9914100-1-9

      Smashwords License Statement

      This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away.

      If you would like to give out this book as a gift, please purchase additional copies.

      If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      River’s Song

      Acknowledgements

      More Acknowledgements

      River’s Song

      By

      Calliope Braintree

      for you,

      beloved, sluggish little creek

      I am the Atoms and the Space in between,

      the Unmanifested heard, felt, smelt, tasted and seen

      I am Anger

      and Forgiveness

      all in one stream.

      For I am the Source,

      I am the Dream…

      I am the scent of holy things,

      the sound of shadowy, unseen wings…

      ominous…

      foretelling black endarkenings.

      I flow slowly, ever to the Sea.

      I am Wildness,

      Authenticity.

      I am Coyote’s shrewd yellow eyes,

      whose maniacal laughter mostly belies

      this shadowy substance of things.

      Both Senseless and Wise,

      I am love-drenched thighs…

      I am meandering your rememberings,

      I am meandering your lies.

      I am Heron’s tears

      through the round of years

      I am the audacity of grief.

      And the relief of grief,

      be it long, be it brief

      is what incubates Understanding.

      I am the Understanding of a Leaf

      My hopes and My fears, all lost to a thief.

      So… your misunderstanding

      domineers

      Understanding’s long meanderings

      through this shadowy

      substance

      of things.

      I am the lust of a flower,

      all fragrance, all

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