the river's city.

i have a friend in brisbane who composes words into the most beautiful poetry and prose. he wrote a wonderful piece about the recent flooding. his articulation and ability to provoke emotion has prompted me to share it with you.

The River's City

"The floods came and went, swallowing up chunks of our city only to disgorge them a short while later when its palette found the taste unpleasant; the workings of its gullet leaving a residue of silty brown saliva chalked onto every spare surface and unassuming crevice as a reminder for all its culinary displeasure.

Queensland, the state of which Brisbane is capital, has long promoted itself as 'The Sunshine State'; a fame endeared by its year round summer heat; short to the point of nonexistent winter; and unadulterated sun-worship. And like that motto, Brisbane too is proud of the slogan it boasts through number plates and tourist brochures. 'Brisbane: The River City' - a term given life by the thick mass of water which permeates its core.

Winding like a languid python, the Brisbane river makes a voluptuous curve through the heart of this place, gracefully consenting to the use of its hide for the recreational pleasure of its citizens; the chugging of ungainly shipping containers; and river-taxis to ferry tourists along itself, stopping into quays and jetties which thumb themselves out into the waters at opportunistic intervals.

The city too, makes good use of the river's proximity, encroaching on its edges like a sycophant, sprouting hubs, parklands, artificial beaches, towering skylines, art galleries, cafes, restaurants, curiously constructed bridges and roller-coasteresque expressways.

For myself, the river of Brisbane has always been a source of welcome familiarity. The majestic malleability of its hue is potent; the intoxicating churn of its waters on days furious with the wind is infectious; the reflection of the city lights on a still midnight walk is alluring. Though true enough it is that many cities are defined by the water they stand by, nowhere else have I been where a river has felt so concretely perfect for the hub it provides life to. Nowhere else have I been where it felt more comfortable to say that indeed this is, The River City.

Yet in that slogan, there is a telling scent of presumption. The River City - two words joined by suitable enough association; one natural, the other artificial; one an adjective, the other a noun. Considered as a whole, the slogan implies power to the final word; the former placed so as to give the latter a distinctive power over and above that which the former owns of itself.

And so it was that in the second week of 2011, proceeding from a year of rain so continual that The Sunshine State lost all dignity in its title (and ironically began sending tourists to Melbourne instead for the weather), that the river broke its banks, and left us all a'daze. All of a sudden, those terrible years of belly-aching drought grew small and distant in the collective eye as the river, full from gorging on the constant downpour, lazily let its guts spill over, and slyly gave new perspective to the moniker we presumed it to own, yet it no longer seemed to want."

[photo: denis hamilton]