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The Shenandoah

The Shenandoah

By Elizabeth Cottrell

Encouraged by our writing group leader, Sarah Kohrs, to try different writing genres, I entered this into a Mountain Courier poetry contest. It was selected to be included in their April 2020 issue for National Poetry Month. The contest theme was “Uniquely Shenandoah.”

 


The Shenandoah

Listen to River’s voice
      from murky depths and restless currents
     past stark white sycamores standing sentinel on its bank

Nothing stays the same
Each moment is sacred

Listen to River’s voice
      from roiling rapids and tree-shaded pools
      where bass and sunfish dart and hide

Swim with the current when you can
Swim against it when you must

Listen to River’s voice
      past serpentine bends and tumbling falls
      scouring, erosion, and turbulence deep below

When you can’t see far ahead, focus only on the next step
The roughest parts of life will shape and mold you

Listen to River’s voice
      down the valley, up mountain ravines, high up to windy ridges
      where great raptors ride the thermals

Let go; relax
Trust the current to carry you

Listen to River’s voice
      as tiny streams contribute to quickening swell
      as river becomes bay, bay becomes ocean

You are an essential part of a great whole
You are enough

Sycamores on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River

North Fork of the Shenandoah River

Photo credits: John A. Cottrell, Jr., M.D.
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kate Brenton says

    June 9, 2020 at 11:21 am

    I love the poetry and the fluidity that relates to the river. You brought me right in.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth H. Cottrell says

      June 9, 2020 at 11:50 am

      Thank you so much, Kate! I so appreciate your taking the time to read and comment.

      Reply
  2. Pamela Wight says

    May 25, 2020 at 12:21 pm

    Congrats, Elizabeth. I can see (read) why your poem was chosen. It moves along in the River’s cadence and voice. Just lovely.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth H. Cottrell says

      May 25, 2020 at 1:57 pm

      Thank you, Pam! I love our river, and it made me happy to drop into her mystical beauty and see what bubbled up.

      Reply
  3. Pamela Dux says

    April 24, 2020 at 8:07 pm

    I really love this poetry that you wrote. It is powerful and gentle at the same time. The images in the words give a force and the gentle suggestions are a guide to the good, to the light, and to ourselves. Thank you Elizabeth.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth H. Cottrell says

      April 26, 2020 at 9:47 pm

      Thank you so much, Pamela. Living near this river has been such a gift and it gives me great pleasure to share it.

      Reply

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Elizabeth Cottrell, aka RiverwoodWriter

Elizabeth H. Cottrell

I am a freelance writer, ghostwriter, and blogger called to encourage readers to strengthen the bonds of faith, family, and friends and to cultivate the joy and impact of personal, handwritten notes and letters. More Info.

 
 
 
 
 
 

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