The River Barreled Topsidedown

The river barreled topsidedown
Through desert and through dale,
The dragonfly, a shining crown,
Flashed swift as crisp dovetail;
Its thoughts, they clamored in the wind,
Not steady now, a tad chagrined.

Stammering as kings who rule
But leave no trace to emulate
They twinkled far as Istanbul
But in a swift, inconstant state,
Ten thousand flashing, dashing darts
That come and go like beats of hearts.

The reeds beside them bent; but they
Mechanically shot aft and port;
With day in night and night in day
Without a thought they did disport,
The dawn the dusk the heat the cold
All time was young, no moment old.

The waters flow; the fishes flit
And fishers set their nets of rope
And lacking wisdom, lacking wit,
Without despair and lacking hope
The dragonfly divinely flies
And death’s dominion he defies