Rivers Of The World. Poem by Michael Walker
Rivers Of The World.
There are 188 rivers which are more than 1000km in the world,
and countless shorter ones. The long rivers have common features,
but they are all different. They start in mountains or high ground
as mere streams, then widen with the tides like flared trousers,
As they flow down to a wide delta at the ocean where they may divide,
like the Ganges at Kolkota. The Ganges has many river mouths at the Bay of Bengal
and is revered by the Hindu people who build funeral pyres
on which people who have sailed to the end of their journey are cremated.
The River Jordan, which is narrow and only 360 km, is, nevertheless, where John baptized the first Christians.
The longest rivers do not generally go it alone; the Yangtze flowing west-east has more than seven hundred tributaries in east China.
It widens to some km. acrossat the delta, with two islands, at Shanghai.
The Mississippi-Missouri is a complex river system of north-south and south-north flow,
which is joinedby hundreds of tributaries: the partners meet at St. Louis from which
the Mississippi flows on south through Memphis, which is still haunted by the ghost of Elvis in town,
to the delta at New Orleans, the bi-cultural city which had it all before the cyclone swirled around.
-12,13 June 2020. Revised 19 June 2020.
I had to select a few of the most important rivers around to write about. I could not give an endless compendium of mere facts. There was not even space to mention two of the world's longest rivers: the Nile and the Amazon, for instance.
Most rivers flow north-south, or south-north, while others go west-east or east-west.
For the record the four longest rivers are: 1. the Nile,6995 km.2. the Amazon,6516 km.3. the Yangtze,6380 km.4. the Mississippi-Missouri,5969 km. These are on the world's largest continents, of course.
The above may not be absolutely precise measurements, and the question of tributaries complicates things. There is debate about which few rivers are actually the longest.
I started with the idea of writing in rhymed quatrains, but the meaning of words became more important than rhymes, as the rivers flowed through my imagination and would not give me any peace. The lines grew longer, with overflow, based more on breath units than mere word or syllable counting.
I admire your deep study of the subject, its relevant history, culture, religious customs and traditions besides its geographical perspective. This also holds good in the present case where you have taken the subject of important rivers of the world. Thanks for this amazing palate of information.
There are 188 rivers which are more than 1000km in the world, as well as countless shorter ones. The long rivers have common features, ...You have given us historic and heart touchable information through this excellently penned poem. Starting from The River Jordan to The Mississippi-Missouri we witness the complex river system. An amazing perceptional poem you have penned...10
Thanks for your encouraging comment. However, I noticed a couple of errors, which I will have to fix right away.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/5/2024 9:44:27 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Rivers are indeed a draw to the literary crowd===inspiring novels, short stories, plays and of course poems.