River in Flood

The rain has stopped, the wind has eased,
The river flows swiftly carrying all the debri,
Twisting and turning, gushing and rushing,
Why the hurry to be engulfed by the sea.

The cloud comes down, haunting all in passing,
A ray of light catches the river,
Slow down, slow down,
But the mist surrounds and the light disappears,
The river continues to twist and turn,
Hurry, hurry to get to the sea.

All is quiet, no birds can be heard,
The occasional light shines through the mist,
The bridge is strong
A calmness descends
The river continues to rage
Until it has won....

To my family and all people from my small home town Whakatane, I think of you as the river floods.  I see news from the TV and I have never seen the river like this.  You live in an area that is well known for earthquakes but never flooding like this.  I hope the tide at midnight tonight does not engulf the beautiful business area and homes of many people.  

I remember the river for many fun things, whitebait fritters, walking, exploring, running along the stopbank in the early hours of the morning training for school sports - not that I was any good! My brother and mates would go out to the island - make huts and fish, ah memories of the Whakatane River all good until today.

This is not the Whakatane River as I now live in the South Island of NZ.  Whakatane is situated in the Bay of Plenty of the North Island of NZ.  The photo is of the Waimakariri River which has also been quite high due to heavy rain.  Quite a contrast to yesterdays's blip for me.