Growing up we had one of the most beautiful rivers that flowed out of the expansive Te Urewera National Park in New Zealand. The Horomanga River flowed from the park which is the spiritual home of the Tuhoe People (Children of the mist)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horomanga_River

The river was pure and unfettered.

That was until the river rock was quarried to make use for roading. While the upstream was essentially unchanged, the downstream area became a giant playground for trucks and loaders.

Water is so valuable to us, so this is why I was promoted to write this.

I come from a place where the river is unchained,

No cataracts, rapids or falls does it fear,

It flows unfettered down through the valleys, 

The water just flows, it is always been here.

From out of the sacred heart of the land,

From the purifying points within the earth,

The highest peaks are where the journey starts,

The miracle as Mother Earth gives perpetual birth.

I come from a place where the rivers are unchained,

The purest life consecrated, in change and form,

Pouring forth from sacred creases, the hip and marrow,

And as the molecule hits daylight, the flow is reborn.

I stand in a place where the waters are now chained,

Where man has cajoled, and coaxed with brute force,

The brackish flow, the turgid current, the endless waste, 

I stand where the waters are chained, will it accept my remorse?