Fireflies Over The River

She looks down through leaves and shadow,
where water folds itself around stone.
The river listens but does not speak her name,
where time has worn bone to silence-
sheep skulls broken, horns half-buried,
rinsed clean by the river’s patient flow.

Once there was warm breath on that surface,
warm mouths lowering to drink.
She remembers what the river forgets.
The skulls remember nothing at all.

Between them, the bridge holds-
neither mourning nor forgiving.
Fireflies rise, carrying light away,
leaving the forest unchanged,
as if none of this had ever been.

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

The passing of time. Eventually all those memories will be lost in the flow. A lovely nostalgic composition with fine choice of language, and visual with it.

Chris

[Michael Sun Bear]

Nicely done Noah. It’s very evocative of a quiet place in nature where the river is slowly erasing the physical memories of the past. I like it a lot.