Dead River

On the banks of dead river
lives 
the wait of the trees
for a distant message

We walk across the river
not with it

Walk on the pebbles 
that once shone hidden
and 
you hear
the applause that once welcomed the river
the tales it shared with the banks

a dead river 
is the indelible footprint of the dead

                              ---- Santhosh Kumar Kana

                                                 (written at Chitwan, Nepal, Nov. 2013)