Walking In the river again
Wearing old sandals
Feet wet and cool
Water up to my calves
Or a little higher If I venture downstream
To deeper water on the sandy riverbed.
This pastime centers me
As when walking along the tide line
And in tide pools In Bermuda.
It is a different water within a different nature
But one that has become beloved to me
And essential
To keeping my mind and spirit
Calm, hopeful.
Here I once more know who I am.
(The river at the end of the garden, France)
•••
Sandra Rouja is a Bermudian writer whose work is drawn from her love of the natural world and family history. Her short stories, articles, and contemplative nature prose have been used in local schools, and American universities. A recently published third book, I Sing of the Sea/Canto do Mar is printed in English and Portuguese.
tongues of the ocean 