Mikvah Poem by Ari Nystrom Rice

Daughter Water washes me
Cleanses me
Frees me
Freedom like salmon out of a dam
Freedom like the white waters of the Umpqua

Daughter Water gives to me
Builds me
Stabilizes me
Stabilizes like a tree in a waterfall its roots in the canyon bellow
Stabilizes like a frog on a lily pad serene on the crystal water

Daughter Water receives from me
Accepts me
Loves from me
Love like mother nature's channels and support
Love like father time's endless embrace of clouds and stars
I release
I take
I give