When Suddenly Night
There are salmon, red muscles swallowing
river, diving down into cold water. They
are not cold like you are cold, huddled
in between two pines with your knees at your chin.
-
It’s evening. The light is hushing itself
out of the trees, out of the ice splintered river.
If anyone else is around they’re quiet too.
Only the salmon are splashing softly.
-
I watch your eyes moving beneath
flimsy lids. I begin to close my eyes, too,
and dig down to the hard earth looking
for the warmest, deepest soil, as if I could
give you enough.
-
And when I reach the hard earth I
go on, and underneath the rock are
salmon in cold water, colder than you could
ever be cold, diving down, swallowing river,
red muscled there are salmon.
