A number of years ago, my wife and I toured Switzerland. While she was doing something else, I sat on a bench by the Aar River in the city of Berne. An old woman came and sat beside me on the bench. She spoke no English, and I spoke very little German. Yet we were able to communicate with a few words and some sign language.

While sitting there, she pointed to the river and exclaimed, "Von Himmel, Von Himmel!" If you don't know any German, that means, "From Heaven, From Heaven!" In that brief German expression, she left a lasting impression on my life. I have tried to capture that impression in the following poem about our relationship to nature. I hope you enjoy it.

How long will it flow?