Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the astra-addon domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home1/beloved/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121

Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the uael domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home1/beloved/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121

Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the astra domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home1/beloved/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121
Ichetucknee by Richard Eberhart - Beloved Blue River
"Headspring Plunge" Photo: John Moran

 

It is the continuous welling up from the earth
We must remember. Dawn comes, and the waters
Spring fresh, clear, vital from the earth.
Night comes, they well unabated from the dark.

Strange, is it not, that the temperature
Is always the same. The clarity is without change.
As the water blooms upward to become a petaled river
Each grain of sand below is visible as in air.

Over the oval, the mouth, the maw, the source,
We cannot see down into the cavernous mystery
Into primitive limestone releasing the clear water.
We are impelled outward from the warm, strong center.

Our bodies delight in the flow of original life.

Freely in the stream of exhilarating non history
We can walk, swim, float in the clearest shallows.
Upon us the welling up of the source,
Around us the gift of the river, the way we must go.

Our bodies delight in the flow of original life.

 


“Ichetucknee” appeared in Eberhart’s Florida Poems, published in 1981 by Konglomerati Press, P. O.Box 5001, Gulfport, Florida 33737.

See Also: Ichetucknee as Muse: Poetry and Theatre by Steve Robitaille

You may be interested in...

History and Long-Term Trends

“Bill” Collins, Ichetucknee Postmaster, 1878 (photo submitted by Christopher Mark Esing) HISTORY AND LONG-TERM TRENDS The Ichetucknee has a rich history, but long-term trends in ...
Read More →

Innovations and Protections

Precision agricultural techniques can reduce pollution and save water (photo courtesy of Charles Barrett) INNOVATIONS AND PROTECTIONS What are the existing actions we can take, ...
Read More →

Should Florida Adopt the Precautionary Principle?

Should Florida Adopt the Precautionary Principle? With springs and rivers losing flow and with pollution in our waterways increasing, it may be time to consider ...
Read More →
Scroll to Top