River -- Joni Mitchell

Guest poem sent in by Aseem

(Poem #1409) River It's coming on Christmas They're cutting down trees They're putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on But it don't snow here It stays pretty green I'm going to make a lot of money Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby cry He tried hard to help me You know, he put me at ease And he loved me so naughty Made me weak in the knees Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on I'm so hard to handle I'm selfish and I'm sad Now I've gone and lost the best baby That I ever had Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh I wish I had a river I made my baby say goodbye It's coming on Christmas They're cutting down trees They're putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace I wish I had a river I could skate away on -- Joni Mitchell

One of my favourite Christmas songs and one that I'm always haunted by
in this season (i've been wandering around humming it for three days
now). There's something so heartbreaking about the refrain that hearing
it again and again you can feel yourself almost lifted on wings of
sorrow and loneliness and longing. I think it's an incredible example
of how one simple yet beautiful line, repeated again and again can be
more eloquent than all the passionate verse in the world (the only
thing I can compare it to is Neruda: Tonight I can write the saddest
lines). To really appreciate it you need to hear the song of course,
because there's Joni Mitchell's incredible voice to accompany it, but I
think even by themselves the lyrics are brilliant.

So here's hoping that the new year brings us all the rivers we've been
dreaming of.

Merry Christmas,

Aseem