River's Ribbon

by Nancy Jentsch

Image courtesy of the British Library Photostream

River's Ribbon

After your last breath
my life unwinds like river's ribbon
one edge frayed
an eroded bank
too treacherous to bridge

Around the tempting bend
a siren sighs
invites me to don
the uniform of mourning
bury myself under the current
ink my ribs with river silt

but reflected in dusky water
a gallery of trees
laced by morning's mist
outsings the siren
allows my lament
wraps me in satin