Joan Shelley
Bed in the River
In a bed in the river I met with a swan and held it while it died
The swan was just one thing I carried along
The bodies of old things, poisons, and cloth
This tar, this plastic, my constant resistance
I am the river, my lover, my distance

In a while, flee with me, please, to the woods
Hibernation envy you suffer, my sweet
You stare at the sky and I'll stare at my feet
This hedge, this sheet, your seamless resistance
I am the river to give you assistance