Hand in hand, we walked along the river
Hesitant, you led us to the water’s edge
And although the path we’d followed still was calling,
you suggested that we rest a while instead

So gently, you pulled me into the shallows,
where we stood to talk and cool our eager feet
The sunlight throwing sparks off of the water,
though I could hardly see the beauty for the heat

But gradually, the day cooled into evening
And as darkness fell, I urged that we should go
I was all too eager for our destination,
and you found it in your heart to tell me “no”

You told me that it’s best we test the water
before following the river to its source
But I wondered, just how long may we linger
before the waters that we dwell in change their course?

You assumed it as the ebb and flow of nature,
that what should be will always eventually be
And in our human frailty, we cannot change that
But only cherish every brief, fleeting reprieve

And then, with a sudden smile, you surprised me
as you made your way back out onto the sand
It was an obvious gesture of your decision
And so we walked along the river, hand in hand