On a Stranded Shore

Silk of blue woven by the moon Red spun by the sun Of the sun’s gold Silver in wrists and in her rings Hair braided in red Her shoes featherlight As reeds and straws on the shore As bark and foliage As clamshells and sand My maiden’s flesh Now fish in the lake deeps Her blood now waters blue Oh god of sleep Tell in my dream Where has my maiden gone Where lies my mermaid now Rise above the waves From the waters’ grave From the side of spottled stones Become alive again These shores are for memory These waters not for baiting No shallows for the thirsty No sun beheld above these shores No reflection of the moon on these waters here My maiden’s hair Grass on the waters’ edge Now willows on a shore