Another from the book of my mountain country

River frog song

And on a day when the Fraser ran swift to the ocean she found herself listening, listening to sounds within and so
came to the song of the river frog

River Frog Song

As the road curved
at the base of the mountain
by the river, I leapt
leapt into the river
I lay, I lie
crystal among stones

The skin of the river frog is green
smooth
wet and smooth
cool, his splayed foot touches stone
his hands delicate
touch weightless, listening

Listening under his green skin
I felt his bones, delicate
bones, weightless against
my heaviness, wide touching
frail hands
tender, tending, green skinned
and smooth, polished
as water, in the water, by water

I lay in the river, I lay
cool
while the white road curved
past the mountain


That summer, long and hot, dead leaves
dropped into the water, the river frog
quiet, lay on my heaviness. skin
soft, his hand
growing transluscent
white bones showing, his voice
silent, heartbeats slowing


Slow, slow as the water
cold
cold, crystaline, sharp
I lay silent, and the silence
pierced the centre, the centre
broke. I lay broken
under the heaviness
under the tender bones
under bones
under the still river

Under the mountain
stone