River Silt

Text

in late summer

nature bodies beautiful


we walk sandy bottom trails

willow thickets spit out

sun cliff tower walls

still we go deeper


salt water lips we swim

muskgrass swaying in stream

wet rainbows quiver we glimpse

warm shallow ripples


we roll on dunes curving down

large bodies burnt brown bent up

soft red glinting in river silt lines

that gorge bottom sound


recreational pleasure please

watch us

hard and touch us

gentle


dark forests dive

    deep down parted mounds

wood muscle moss

bush silvered gloss

cedar grain aged lines


an imp among

woodland creatures offers

blackberries and beckoning

eyes twinkle


stone worker builds

pleasure gardens

bodhi brings down

the sky rings

truth off sun cliff

tower wall echoes


over golden hour bottom showers

slick soft river silt

late summer nature bodies

wood muscle moss

holding and held


this orbit still spins



J. Turner Masland (he/him)