As a River, by Sion Dayson.[1]

The story owns the title. Only more. It makes a river of time. Each of us a boatman at a worn and ancient helm. The helm is both a teacher and a tool. The course of life, unkind. A history of wrong. Hold on and steer.

We are in east Bannen, Georgia, 1944-1977, where black folks live. Many work in west Bannen, cleaning, getting dirty. Nothing changes fast. Especially in Bannen. But there comes a time. A thing must give. And there is the water. It gives life. It takes life, too. And when needed, it carries you away.

“It should have been harder for a young black boy to slip undetected from a small Southern town.”

Meet Greer. His mom Elizabeth, in failing health. Meet neighbors Esse and daughter Ceiley—Celestial. Meet Caroline, the Judge and Mrs. Thomas. Clayton Major Michaels. Meet Akua Gloria Appiah—as glorious as they come. And meet the rolling sea—along with Greer.

“A little bit of fear protects you. There are some things you should be afraid of,” Elizabeth said. And Greer was afraid. And there was no way out. So he left.

It is the women who build Greer into Greer. Blessings from unwanted sources are not caustic by necessity. Like books and blood. Like knowledge they illuminate.

“The family is like the forest. If you are outside, it is dense. If you are inside, you see that every tree has its own position.”

Sion Dayson chose the simple name for her first novel. Her living storytelling celebrates the depths of simplicity. One does not need imaginations to feel pain. Or to celebrate.

“No one tests the depth of the river with both feet.”

Read about Greer Michaels and watch. He and his ailing mama build a home out of her sagging house. In measured turns, the house is righted. By our visitation, the burden of each beam made true by God’s own plumb.

“One who can speak never goes missing.”

Find me a better story, a better journey, a better truth than this.


Image: “Bridge at Atoyac”—New York Public Library—Public Domain[2]

[1] https://siondayson.com/
[2] https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/9ea29a70-c0bc-0134-f563-00505686a51c