Untamed River
Yesterday I was outside myself watching at water’s edge,
wanting to know dark knotted wood, snarled heart
of split oak, a pliable tangle of maple and birch bleached
on the bank–set free by nature’s rage. My eyes gripped
the storm. Something mystical happens in a turbulent river–
rush of sediment over rocks, driftwood pieces ripped
from resting places collide, tumble end over end, get stuck,
and break free. I was enchanted by their crash and crescendo.
Today is a cool windless mirror, yet
the sentiment remains. Sediment has settled into me.
It lingers with a want for some persistence and not just
as a witness. I want to wield the power of the river for myself–
to twist and turn words over. To rip them from this place
and set them free.
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Shyla Ann Shehan (she/her) is an analytical Virgo from the US Midwest. She received an MFA from the University of Nebraska and was awarded an Academy of American Poets Prize. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Naugatuck River Review, Midwest Quarterly, Eclectica, Write or Die Magazine, Drunk Monkeys, and elsewhere, and she was nominated for a Pushcart in 2022. She’s the curator of The Good Life Review and lives in Omaha with her partner, children, and three cats. ❀ For more, please visit shylashehan.com.
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Stone Poetry Quarterly 