Take Me Down Take me down to the river to bathe To have my past washed away To begin the new day

as a new person Who views the world with a fresh perspective And expects the best from friends and strangers alike. Take me to the shores of the River Ganges Where Shiva released the seven streams From his matted locks to allow Ganga To flow down from heaven without flooding To restore life to the ashes of the sons of Sagar And let them finally rise to their eternal rest. Take me down to the River Styx Where Thetis the sea nymph Dipped her son Achilles Holding him by the heel Leaving one weak point That an arrow would one day pierce Letting the poison do its work, Making him a mortal man And an immortal hero All in one stroke of a bow. Take me down to the shores of the Nile Show me where baby Moses was placed in a basket And set afloat among the reeds by his mother So that he could one day lead his people Out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Then take me down to the River Jordan Where John baptized Jesus And a dove descended to bless him And send him on the journey That led to his death and resurrection For the salvation of all mankind. Take me down to the banks of the Mighty Mississippi Where eagles fly and steamboats float And Huck Finn and a slave named Jim Once took off on a handmade raft In search of a place where they could be free From the society that enslaved them And brainwashed them with strange ideas About the natural order of things in so-called civilization. Take me down to the rivers where the myths are made Let me wade into their moving waters Let me feel their currents tugging at my legs. Hold me as I float. Dip me under. Make me new again. In the hope that love and brotherhood Don t only exist in bedtime stories.