the differences between us you will always have the river wide in the way a boy thinks is wide quiet brown silted water as distant as ancestral piazzas and i will have mountains not too tall scalable but not by me holding back clouds and lightning both your river will take you back to fond pleasant thoughts of youth or ugly thoughts perhaps or fear of what a boy never lost and my mountains? they were wilder than that more potent in their expressions still and erect and stagnant with grace your river shames you for what you were and what you cannot forget but there was no shame in it when it passed through pastures and lowlands green hills and woodlands, wild flowers and wheat and there was no shame in the mountains at my feet late at nights tar shine and moon light on my face forearms, hands, lips, waist, skin no shame in that