What the River Knows

What the River Knows

Kayla

The rain does not beg to be heard

It comes when it is ready,

soft at first,

then all at once,

filling the spaces no one thought to watch.

The river does not ask

if it is too much,

too wide,

too restless.

It moves because it must,

because that is what rivers do.

And you—

you were never thunder,

never the thing that broke the sky open,

but still, you moved,

a quiet storm,

slow and certain,

shaping the world

without needing to be seen.

And wasn't that enough?

Hasn't it always been?

Originally published in Lambda (UNC SAGA), Spring 2025 issue. See: https://tarheels.live/lamb/read/