Peaceful Water, Crashing Water

Water, water, friendly water,
Water, water, crashing water,
You look immortal ‘til you crash,
on rocks, and die like smoking ash.

Crashing on man-made barrier of boulders
Wave after wave rose to assault
The temple hewn out of a rock
Standing firm more than a thousand years
Submerged by the tsunami and emerged again
To command over the crashing waves

Water, water, dead still water,
Water, water, peaceful water,
though you appear in a hundred places,
You have no less than a thousand faces.

Rain laden grey clouds billowed overhead
Hot and thirsty we clutched our bottles of Aqua Fina
Pure water drawn from natural springs
Deep down Mother Earth

Water, water, crashing high,
You will soon come falling from the sky,
Water, water, low and still,
What is the next hole you will fill?

Like the Quality of Mercy from heaven
Droplets fell cool and soothing
Gentle showers, then a drizzle and a downpour
Drenching us to the skin

An imminent hurricane centred just a few miles away
We raced around sculpted rocks that turned into waterfalls
Water pouring from above, water roaring down the rocks
Water booming on the shore
Young and old we stood on the timeless scene
tasting a drop of eternity.

This poem was a collaboration between a famous grandma - Sujatha Vijayaraghavan and her young grandson.  Sujatha Vijayaraghavan describes how this project came to be.