The mountain stood
On top of the world
And looked down upon me
“Cry me a river!” I said
and I watched as shimmering tears
ran down her chiseled features
and around the brittle tussocks
that framed her face
like golden locks of amber hair

“Cry me a river!” I said and her tears welled up in crystal pools
and cascade over polished stone
giving life to everything they touched

“Cry me a river!” I said
and her river of tears met the tree line,
and were soothed by cool green moss
and moist bark and lichen

“Cry me a river!” I said
and her tears flowed on
through the valley and thicket
growing stronger and richer
wider and deeper

“Cry me a river!” I said
and beneath the sparkling surface
of her tears life abounded
and its form took many shapes and colours

“Cry me a river!” I said
and her tears became
a soothing playground
for the children of the land
and a quenching fountain for the animals
of the forest and the fields
and all the birds of the air

“Cry me a river!” I said
and her tears flowed out upon the clear land
where the trees had once stood
Her eyes grew cloudy as they mixed with
The silt of the land and wasted fertilizer

“Cry me a river!” I said
and her tears darkened
and weeds flourished in her pain
and choked her with their numbers.

“Cry me a river!” I said
and onward her river of tears
struggled towards the sea
as the fruits of human progress
discharged themselves into her belly.

“Cry me a river!” I said
but her crystal tears
became like soup
and no life could be
nourished within them
and her breath became
putrid.

“Cry me a river!” I said
and at last her tears
made union with the sea,
and the wake from her mouth discoloured her sister,
and forced her to drink poison

“Cry me a river!” I said
and the mountain replied

My tears are freely given
to an earth that thirsts

The sun melts my snowy veil
to bring life to the world,
yet with each new fall of snow
I see less clearly
and my eyes burn with sorrow
My tears of life are wasted
on the careless,
and the sun’s rays of hope
are shaded by indifference

“So cry ME a river!” said the mountain,

so I cried me a river
and I cared for my river
and I ran with my river to the sea

When I reached the sea it became clear
And I saw with each new day
a beginning is made
and from each new tear a river is born
and for each new problem a solution is sought
It’s up to you and me!”
By Unknown