House quieter this morning, although I know
Somewhere the river. Somewhere
You listening for currents, dark ghost
Swirling in the eel grass, taking shape. Then
Footsteps, a memory—ice breaking
In shallows, rivulets, still cold. Somewhere
—When was it?—we lived beside a river.
Water swift, too high, so the bank seemed
Dangerous, no edge or lip—
Listen to the river.
I know it's distant now,
The sound of a body splashing there
Alone, waiting. Who was it? Did we know?
Our eyes are cluttered, a lifetime's flotsam
Hoarded in a house we'll never leave.
The water is frozen but the ground is soft.
Pull me down as if I were—I am—
The stranger trembling in the weeds.