It Keeps Coming

The salmon work so hard
but the water runs so fast.
It holds them back; they push.
They flail; they fail.
It pushes them back, again.
They keep trying, again and again.
The water keeps rushing and raining; flowing and filling up the creek.
The salmon keep rushing and rallying; floundering and falling back.
Is it futile?
It’s life; the will forces the way.
But who’s will and who’s way?
Who wins?
Brains and brawn; Beauty doesn’t matter.
The whole thing is beautiful.
It inspires me.
It depresses me.
But the Salmon know:
It’s better to die a big death than to live a small life.