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      November 1, 2024A River Runs Through ItCharles Harper Webb

      Not flows. Runs—watery
      knees high, arms pumping,
      breath steady and sure.
       
      Not the whole river.
      That would scare people.
      This is a big, kind-hearted
       
      river. Splashy and reflecting
      light, this river loves
      to mix with people—sad
       
      so often, full of discontent.
      That’s what their big
      brain-to-body ratio achieves.
       
      The river splashes them
      as it runs by, as if
      they were little kids
       
      playing with squirt guns
      on a stifling August day.
      What could be more fun
       
      than to dash shrieking
      around the yard, playing
      a game you want to lose,
       
      since losing means
      you wind up soaking
      wet and cool, dripping
       
      and laughing? The river
      loves to make us feel
      that way.

      from #85 – Musicians

      Charles Harper Webb

      “I was a professional rock singer/guitarist from the age of 15 to 30, playing in Texas, Louisiana, and all over the Northwest. I think my poems have rock-and-roll attitude and energy, and that the same musicianship I showed on stage permeates my poems. In all the clubs and concerts that I played, I tried to excite and entertain my audience, and never to bore them. I bring that same attitude to poetry.”