Poem of the Dammed

Poem of the Dammed

I am hardened, reinforced with steel
I span the banks
Never moving, never compromising my
rigid boundaries

I arch my back to
Hold myself against the flow
Closed, not allowing,
Not opening, not open

Behind me builds this
Vast pressure, this
Great unrelenting burden
Yet I hold fast to my anchorage
Trusting my foundation
Unwilling to venture a peek, a spout
That would surely result in
My painful death

Holding fast, the rain
Continue to fall
And my burden grows daily
Straining me, torturing me

Though the reinforcement of fear
Is great
The strain-full suffering
Grows greater
Oblivious to myself I am parched, a desert
A living dilemma
My convicted contractions
Meant to protect me
Now hurt me with unbearable,
Strain-full suffering

Oh, that I were not
So strongly hardened
Oh, that I knew my gateways
Oh, that I were not a dam at all
That I might discover
My dreaded shadow—that
Ugly, filthy, dangerous and disgusting beast
To be no less than the
Waters of life

Oh, that I might break
The concrete and steel that
Surrounds my heart
Burst forth
And see myself for what
I was meant to be—
A part of the River of Life

The deserts and wastelands
Before me would again
Spring forth in abundance

Oh, that I might have the
Strength to let go of
What I take to be my strength
And realize the power and glory
Of my flow


Kurt Treftz 1999, 2006