In the River of Time
by Louise Gallagher

Time flows in one direction
slow and steady 
it moves forward 
carrying us always 
closer and closer 
to the heart’s last beat
where the earth waits patiently
to claim us as its own.

The river winds its way through valleys and plains, 
carrying the scent of earth and rain, 
its waters overflowing
with stories of the places it’s been
as it pours itself into the deep 
vast waters of the ocean
waiting patiently
for its gift to become one
with the endless song 
of its ebb and flow.

The heart, blood red 
beats its own rhythm
as we live out our stories
along the banks we call our own
moving always with time’s
journey moving us along
until the beat is gone
and we return
to the earth waiting patiently
to claim us as its own. 

Time, like the river, 
refuses no heartbeat. 
Why then do we believe 
one heart's story, 
lived out in time’s passing days
on the banks of a river 
we've never known 
is worth valuing more 
than another?