The bends, the lichen-coated rocks,
dissipate the current
so that it spreads out sideways
to the banks,
before continuing downstream.
Along the margin,
bees drift in and out
of purple harebell lobes,
bright white arrowhead,
patches of southern iris.
For a hundred miles,
a modest greenery
of riffle and grass,
muskrat hole and wildflower,
pilots the flow,
unhurried and content.
A selfless strip of life
conjoins these waters.
Without it,
the river draws no breath
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. His work has recently been published in New Plains Review, Stillwater Review and Big Muddy Review, and is upcoming in Louisiana Review, Columbia College Literary Review and Spoon River Poetry Review.
Foxglove Journal 