River Sighs

River froths in free-range rapids

falls headlong into pool of moss.

Six eagles survey earth

swoop in unison shred

veil of care. Boulders sag.

Laws of nature spiritual practice.

Rules shatter in exile artifice

of art. Forests no longer see us.

We sleep in plastics paint walls mauve.

Kayaks frame currents. Yellow as fear.

Swim or ford watery isthmus?

Egrets step lightly skinny knees V’d

to chins. Fish vanish in murmurs

ripples sink in breath-span surface

mirror finish. Death feeds life flees death.

Time flows through us channel

of eternity. We must follow we cannot

follow we do follow. Self bends to whims

space bellys-up for no one. Rain

spatters empty flow. River sputters.

Solar haze blanks out background.

Banks extend palms to grasp

or shake. Sand spreads like algae

feeds on itself. Green zone red line.

Float shallows to death’s dark house.