Silver child, born in the sweet stream and green mud
Too hasty to escape the innocence of infanthood.
Freshfaced as you are, iridescent
In the radiance
of the guileless sun.

Crinkled wave,
Laugh lines as it smiles under false pretense,
Embracing you with its salt-worn currents.
Heavier than expected;
you learn to ride them as they come.

When you leave the Pacific brine,
No longer do you shine with dewy freshness;
You are darkened, weary
from the salt and the jostling waters.
Dots of age have begun
to speckle your skin like ash.

Firmly, you head towards the falls
Not yet broken, not quite humbled.
Where cascading streams await
with confidence.

Here is fate,
Unsure as you were in the days of youth,
You leap, belly flashing as the light strikes your scales
With a deep roar the froth slams down.
And you, you struggle against the unimaginable.
against the impenetrable sheets of icy torrents.
Leap, jump
Do not falter. Transcend.