the river between us
DESCRIPTION
A new series of poems by Pushcart Nominee c.a. leibowTRANSCRIPT
The River Between UsHe sought to touch you and found he could not find you,he sought to understand you but could not hear you." Conrad Aiken
Watershed
yes,I am
writingto you
evennow
eventhough
thisriver
livesbetween
us
Brackish Waters
The riveris insistent
and yetour conversations
are modestare constantly
movingshe always
repeatsherself never
repeats herselfrepeats herself
in the damp bluedusk of rustling
leavesin the sky
circlingwith herons
The letters I write you
are in an amber color
of sap
oozing from ourcarved
initials
laying on top of each
other.
a talisman –
expandingeach
yearthe white sycamore
at the bend of
the river
The River
Down River
at the riversedge
river mudrunning
throughmy fingers
watch it fallback into
the watersmall brown
rivuletsmoving fast
away from medown river
a stagleaps
across
Weave of water
While yousleep
I send yousmall birds
to weavewords
into yourhair
the riverholds me
backinstead she
weaves herself
Did you wonderwhy on waking
the damppillowcase?
Crested
Whenthe river
rises
I sendmy
armadaof paper
boatsto you –
have youlooked
inthe trees
my navybeached
onbranches?
A suddenBreeze
willbring
meto you
Augury
The sunfalls
past leavesonto
words thatfloat in
and outof currents
I tryto read them
as they passbut the ravens
havetheir nests
to build
Waist deep in water
Sheweaves
redthread
intoriver-water
the duskaround her
rests on rivulets,
alights ongold
leafspin castssmall shadows.
acrossbare skin
SheNow sings
rocksa lullaby
rocksthe river
On theshore
a paperboat
on abedside table
the bedthe child
his eyesget
heavy
heavier
Sleep
I follow the floating
faint glow oflamp light in
and out of trees
on the othershore
The greeningriver sings
singsa lullaby
sings meto sleep
Alluvium
the river crownedlast night
drowning ourgarden-
There from envya deep silt
offering fornext spring.
Maybeone
more
spring
To White
thismorning
the lightchanged
arounda small
child’swagon-
aroundthe first
birch leaf tofinally
let go of allthat green-
exhaustedby its
ownexuberance.
Did you notice?
Oxbow
Myconver
sationswith
herare
constantlychanging,
she is always changing her-
self, she isalways
the samealways
changing
Rainfalls from
leaves -
Small circlesquiver
on the waterleaves shake
inthe
reflectionshake
offtheir green
move
to-
wardgold
Babel
sometimesit’s so quiet
that I walkaway
from the riverwalk
through dustycathedrals
of lightto pray
to returnto return always
to her
River Rocks
She is alwaysarriving
always leaving
I am still
hereon the shore
throwing stonesover the river’s
undulatingbody
This morningdid you
hear theirdamp dead
thump
among
the damp fallen
leaves
calling to you?
Chill
there is achill in the air
can you feel it?
I raise mycollar
imagine a longcoat for you
Take eat thisthe body
of myprayers
Singing
it’s beentoo long love
since I lookedforward
to winter
Maybe thatcomes with
reading themigration of
certain birdsor the tracks
of coyotesleft in
the dustunder a full
moon or theshedding skin
of the snakecoiled in
my chest?
Broken China
A winter forthe springthat never came?
I’m singingalonein the kitchen
the river that livesbetween ussings with me
We’ve become closer
she doesn’t knoweverything
Did you findthe bundled
sticks and riverstones I left ?
Breath
The nightsare gettingcolder
have you notice
I amno longerspeaking
Towards the south
Iwalk
thelength
her bodywhere
buckleberries
bend atthe bank
drinklong and
slowI wander
upto the
topof a hill
wherecouriers
have brought
urgenttele-
gramswritten
on redand gold
leaves
“Be of good cheer.”
Memento
for nowI look down
the lengthof the river,
her longbluegreen
bodycurves
northWe have
not spokenfor awhile
I look tothe horizon
lookforward
to winterlike when
we met
Take Leaves
Leavesare falling
freelyspinning
bobbingthe river
takes themcaresses
holdsthem
afloatpast
trout hidingunder the roots
of a black tupelounder
the almanac’storn out
pages
The Effigy
I walk the river
My hairhas grown
longmy beard
a nest forsparrows
I gatherfeathers
fallen frombirds in flight
arrangesticks
and stonesriver mud
and leavesinto an effigy
dress itin my shirt
and pantsput prayers
I have writtenyou
where myheart would
be.
leave it on my
side ofthe river
Standingnaked
I wade intothe river
wash awaymy sins
lay quiet on the shore
dry in the air
standingsmall leaves stick
to my skin
I walkthe river
turn southand walkaway
walk awaysinging
your name
Snowfall
at last snow falling
so quietthe worldis
whisperinglike a motherand father
closing the doorafter a lullaby