A turn in the river

March 1, 1984

There is a turn in the river where fish lie deep and water thinks things over: leaf swill, the soundless clicking of rocks, a tennis shoe turning green. A boy lies at the edge examining two dimensions, how they meet sometimes and leave with more to say. He walks home dragging a stick, leaving ant hills unstirred, flowers open-eyed, wondering about a foot that fit a shoe, where the deepest water goes.