river

river

is it cold where you are?
are the blankets i slept beneath,
lofty on your bed as snow,
warm enough to chase the chill from your bones?

do you ever think of me?
have you wondered,
gazing out the kitchen window,
coffee in hand as we did, where i am?

have you ever watched a river?
seen the water move over rock,
leaves carried to distant banks
far from the tree that bore them,
and wondered if it ever rests?

i am that river
running over stone and mud
swirling in pools, then moving on
at times yielding to the banks
then overflowing them
carrying with me twigs and leaves and earth

and you, my love, are a leaf
brilliant and gold in the sunlight
dropped from a maple far north of here
floating forever in my waters

A poem I wrote a few years ago

8/31/04 8:30am north point, block island
________________________________________
gray sea rolling in
over and over the song
repeats
and the satisfying gurgle
of water over stone
changes my breathing
and the cycle feels
like my blood
essential
mysterious
asserting its power

a quiet storm rained down
last night
as the house slept
but not me
not all night
because my blood was out here
breaking against stone
waiting
for morning