May 2021
She rises golden from the water
The current cradles her memory
Her name echoes in the depths
And is whispered in the shallows
She moves with grace through nature
Which is bettered by her presence
And depleted by her passing
The animals bow down
And stand silent once she’s gone
She is Artemis, Athena
She is Helen bathed in starlight
She’s the west wind from the desert
Bringing promise, bringing change
The current cradles her memory
Her name echoes in the depths
And is whispered in the shallows
She moves with grace through nature
Which is bettered by her presence
And depleted by her passing
The animals bow down
And stand silent once she’s gone
She is Artemis, Athena
She is Helen bathed in starlight
She’s the west wind from the desert
Bringing promise, bringing change
This was inspired by watching my lovely wife at the Russian River a few years ago. I had lots of problems with this poem because none of the verses wanted to be like the others — I still have a long/extra line in the second verse that refuses to go away. Plus there were fish and slow moving animals in an earlier draft of the poem, but they kindly agreed to leave and await some future opportunity to help out.
