Riversong

I poured my love down the river, emptied out my soul

(as I murmured low a psalm), from the vessel of my palms

spilled my heart out to the water, bled my life-blood in a bowl

And being Eva’s daughter,

like the lamb led quiet to slaughter,

thought ‘twas Innocence reflected like a mirror off my own,

that in the sparkling water shone-

And I drained a pot of honey to the salt, salt sea;

thought the sweet would soft adulterate the tang of tears within-

But could all the honey in the world dilute the salt of misery?

-in my hands the emptied pot,

I learned that it would not;

against the war of salt and torrent, woman- could not win

in the darkened water shone,

like a shining piece of bone-

my love lying cold, like a corpse grown old,

at the bottom of a river and a deep blue sea.