SONG OF THE RIVER

A curious mountain boy follows a trickle of water all the way to the sea.

Young Cam tells his grandfather that he wishes he could see the sea. “One day we will go there,” is the reply. One spring morning, Cam notices a rivulet trickling through the pine woods. “Come with me,” the trickle sings to him. “I will take you to the sea.” Cam follows the trickle, which joins a creek and runs down the mountainside. The creek meets a stream, where trout leap and beckon Cam. The stream becomes a river that flows through farms with ducks and cows and dogs and then a town. Frogs in the river encourage Cam to continue his journey. The river widens, full of ships big and small. The river sings to Cam, who runs past some wharves and onto the sand dunes. He has reached the sea! It’s “wild and blue and beautiful…and it [goes] on forever,” and it sings the grandest song of all. Back home that night, Cam tells his grandfather about his adventure, and grandfather again replies, “One day we will go there”—leaving readers to wonder whether Cam’s adventure was real or imaginary. Regardless, Cowley neatly modulates Cam’s adventure, sentences that build and accrete like that rivulet taking readers on the journey. Andrews’ diverse landscapes are solidly composed, shifting angles but maintaining an earthy, muted palette.

A lovely homage to nature.