(Lynn Noel for Connecticut RiverFest 1996, read by Gordon Bok)
We are the forces of earth and of sky
Shaping the voice of the river
Rising in vapor on each sunny day
From rainstorm and cloud down the waterfall's way
Crumbling mountains to silt, sand and clay
We are the voice of the river.
We are the creatures of river and stream
Breathing the voice of the river.
Tadpole and bullfrog, amoeba, crayfish
Salmon and sockeye, shad and whitefish
Beaver and muskrat and ottertail swish
We are the voice of the river.
We are the travellers, the river our road
Singing the voice of the river
Abenaki from headwaters, Dutch from the sea
Voyageur traders and slaves running free
Barges and flatboats and schooners at quay
We are the voice of the river
We are the settlers of valley and vale
Living the voice of the river
Logdrivers, sawmillers, dambuilders all
Haymakers, farmers and fishermen small
Miners and mill girls in factories tall
We are the voice of the river
We are the keepers of water and land
Guarding the voice of the river
From dams and diversions, dioxin and dumps
Toxics and turbines and sewage from sumps
Farms, fertilizers and factory pumps
We are the voice of the river
We are the lovers along riverbanks
Sharing the voice of the river
I walked with my love by the banks of the Dee
And sent my love out on that current so free
Felt the tug of my life pull me down to the sea
We are the voice of the river
Out of the waters your Spirit we call
Speak to us, voice of the river
Rhyme of the writer, flow through us all
Grace of the dancer, flow through us all
Breath of the singer, flow through us all
Soul of the actor, flow through us all
Slip of the potter, flow through us all
Brushstroke of artist, flow through us all
Green thumb of gardener, flow through us all
Touch of the healer, flow through us all
Force of the Makers, flow through us all
Speak with the voice of the river.
We are the voice of the river.