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the passaic river

from I WANT YOU TO BELIEVE by John Cozz

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The legends of the passaic river are maybe less likely rooted in folklore and more so just the reality. It is a powerful river that travels from Mendham to Newark at points very beautiful and at points a toxic dump.

My grandmother would tell me stories of growing up in the valley in belleville her family would often go to the river to go swimming. The thought of swimming in this river now is laughable. The water is green and black, the shore line is surrounded by abandoned factories and highways. It is littered with garbage, toxic waste, totaled vehicles, and both dead animals and people. It is not an ideal body of water, at least where I see it.

It is for that reason it has always had an allure to me. You can make the argument that the passaic river via the Paterson Falls catapulted the United States as a Major Player in the Industrial Revolution. A river so powerful became this waste dump, a beautiful metaphor. I used to drive to school in Newark everyday, sitting in traffic on route 21 at all hours of the day. 6am as the sun was rising, 3 am as I'm falling asleep. Whenever I sat in traffic I would just look out at the river and all it's mystery. To me it's a beautiful because it's become such an underdog, but maybe one day it can be beautiful again to the average person and not just a place where the fair lawn fire dept rescues an alligator.

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from I WANT YOU TO BELIEVE, released November 3, 2023

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John Cozz Nutley, New Jersey

New Jersey Fast Food enthusiast

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