I was born in the sweet water of my source, <br />grown up in salty waters of the sea where the river led me. <br />But my mind returns, up there, to the plains of birth; there, <br />I'll generate to sustain and detain my species. <br /> <br />Ascending to source, I’m threatened by broad knives of rocks, <br />by the hungry nail of the bear, the coarse teeth of the wind; <br />the waterfalls strike me down, while jumping their level. <br /> <br />I wish to stand it till the end, even been left with half a skin, <br />no matter if I wiggle in muck when I shall fertilize my eggs. <br />I aim to return; even if I’ll arrive devastated, old at once, <br />even if a water pit will abort my dead body. Before I die <br />I just want to offer the seed that no longer belongs to me. <br /> <br />You, winds, rocks, bears, let me reflect as sage. Yes, <br />I owe to you; because thanks to your jaws I learned <br />how to hold the life tightly and long for my return, <br />how to survive by breathing even from the Aeolus bags. <br /> <br />I care less if my body withers or if I generate in quagmires? <br />I shine as life does. Although I am a fish I become a bird <br />surmounting over steep rocks. My life resembles <br />the salmon's life; survival is but a top priority act. <br /> <br /> <br />© JosephJosephides<br /><br />Joseph S. Josephides<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-rerurn-of-salmon/
