RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RIVER SERIES
The Ebro (River Series)
It flows east by southeast
From Cantabria to the Mediterranean Sea
It feeds the north of Spain
It borrows from the Pyrenees
On the northern border with France
It courses through highlands
To the broad open plains
Then narrows in the rocky gorge
Where the river is constrained
In ancient times it formed the line
Between Carthage and imperial Rome
Battles were fought and many died
For the right to call the Ebro home
In modern days it marked the beginning
Of the end of Spain’s democracy
La Batalla del Ebro left thousands dead
And helped found an enduring autocracy
The flow of the Ebro is running down
Due to dams, irrigation and warming
From time-to-time floods take dry ground
As the river absorbs extreme storming
The River Ebro will endure
Despite the inventions of man
Its future will remain unsure
Though Spain will do what she can