Riverine Passages
By Darrell Petska
And God created Indus River dolphins, bestowing upon them a likeness of the myriad Godhead. Freed to swim the great Indus tumbling from the Himalayas, Indus dolphins multiplied and prospered. Gentle and friendly, they became emblematic of the Harappan peoples long sustained by the Indus.
Pleased with the harmony between humans and dolphins, God’s creative nature turned elsewhere. For thousands of years the accord prevailed, Indus dolphins migrating seasonally back and forth along the river’s 3000-km reach. Yet gradually, the Harappan civilization succumbed to change. Humans fought for access to the Indus. Dams and barrages arose to divert and sequester the precious waters. Lax communities released their wastes into its flowage. All occurred to the detriment of Indus dolphins. Beleaguered and unable to migrate freely, they began venturing into ponds and irrigation channels, often becoming marooned and unable to regain the river.
By the time God’s eye returned to the Indus, the once-sacrosanct haven for Indus dolphins had been sorely defiled. Worsening their plight, commercial fishing gear entangled them, noise pollution confounded their ability to feed and navigate by echolocation, and chemical pollutants poisoned them. At once, God saw what had to be done.
Near the distant Indus Constellation in the vast southern sky, the Indus stellar stream flows. To that placid, far-ranging river, God raised multitudes of Indus River dolphins—as their earthly numbers plunged. Only then did Indus communities come to repent the harm meted upon their water-bound neighbors. Pledging their efforts to protect Indus dolphins— and thus stay God’s hand, these Harappan descendants began to reclaim a significant feature of their heritage.
Ever-hopeful God, acknowledging those efforts, granted humans time to further the dolphins’ well-being. How much time? God’s patience is profound, and human ingenuity, branching from the Godhead, borders on boundlessness.The scripture of the Indus continues to be written. Eyes human and heavenly peer into the muddy waters for signs heralding renewal. Overhead, the Indus stellar stream spills, God’s lofty river should Indus dolphins once more need lasting refuge—for history shows no earthly river flows forever without stewards striving to make it so.
Darrell Petska, a retired university editor from Madison, Wisconsin, writes poetry, fiction and nonfiction. View his work in Buddhist Poetry Review, Nixes Mate Review, Boston Literary Magazine, Verse-Virtual, Loch Raven Review and widely elsewhere. (conservancies.wordpress.com).
Riverbed Review 