The Longest River Winds

Adversity amidst gravity
complete observations

Rocks like a bulwark
becoming nothingness

Odes to crystal dragons
collected and selected

Poetry tells me, tells me
different ways to pray

Dials of granite and steel
other topics by the riverside

Part novel, part of a play
walking sticks, water marks

First poem paperweights
on far edges of the sky

Invisible words juxtaposed
hugging the old jukebox

Yellowed gloves in a suitcase
words fueled under words

Flags of childhood fraying
spaces between footsteps

Winters without catnip
dreams beneath the snow

Come with me, sweet sifter
tattooed feet and eye-to-eye

Twenty varieties of gazelle
–is this forever, or what?

Whatever madness brings
–travel with the moon

. . . . .

Poet: Susan Powers Bourne
Source: Women.Poets.Missouri
Process: Augmented cento