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Shadows of a River

Columbus, Ohio
Sept. 22 1988


A sudden eclipse of the sun
   settles darkness in surprise.
The Olentangy River walks
   along the civilized path
      of fences and concrete barriers,
         of the moving muddiness,
            of certainty, becoming clearer.

Cars rush and reverberate overhead,
   following their headlight beams
      that flash along the rusty rails,
         broken glass, and paper scraps.
Smoking from damp driftwood,
   homeless fires burn.
And a bat's flickering flight
   welcomes the night.

A full moon rises
   with the rabbit hopping;
      blue is bounded by a fluttering moth
         revealing the rippled reflection
            etched to an outline of trees.

Planetlight passes, yet unperceived.

Mars only comes this near
   every seventeen years, but ---
      still too distant to touch,
         the silent sounds of polar ice,
            and faint dusky markings
               in red rocky ground.
Reaching out my hands, 
   I can only grasp
      the emptiness of dreams
         in the flow of a river.

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Copyright © 1989 by Wataru Ebihara