She will you know.
It begins early morning, as the sun
shines down her belly, blinding you
with her glaring beauty.
She is much more than divine.
And that’s the first trick.
She beckons with the sweet rish-rush
splashing of her waters,
over those ever-so-desirable
fifty shades of gray rocks. Don’t touch.
That marks trick two.
A loon floats past. This long, low slung
bird that dives with precision into rapidly
moving waters. She navigates the river
smoothly, with ease, so you feel safe.
And there marks trick three.
This river takes deep pleasure
in her deception. She slaps against
the tow path wall. Don’t dare believe
she’s just another pretty piece of nature,
she’s pure force of flowing fierceness.
You want to enter her, to challenge her.
She is a temptress. She dares you in fact.
Remember, her waters, even when calm,
are always profoundly deep.
Yesterday she breached the tow paths,
took out an aqueduct, destroyed River Road.
Published in The Bards of Eastern Pennsylvania, Spring 2023
Julie Standig has been published in Alehouse Press, Sadie Girl Press, After Happy Hour Review, Schuylkill Journal Review, US1 Poets/Del Val, Gyroscope Review as well as online journals. Her full collection, The Forsaken Little Black Book, by Kelsay Books, was released October 2022. And she is not done yet.
Poet’s Corner is curated by Bucks County Poet Laureate Emeritus Tom Mallouk and supported by a grant to the Bucks County Herald Foundation made possible by Marv and Dee Ann Woodall.
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