Spring River

Today, the snake of wind
found me counting my obsessions
on a bank near the river
that is not a river
but simply a confluence
of water and sky,
a simulacrum
of some ancient flowing.
That snake, with its white tongue
and delicate body,
fed on the gravity
I carried in my heart
until I too was a clear mirror,
a creature of uncertainty
losing its bearings
in the deep, violet rush
of light and petals.

Seth Jani is a poet, publisher and bartender in Seattle, WA. His work has appeared in The American Poetry Journal, Chiron Review, Ghost City Review, Rust+Moth, and Phantom Drift, among others. His most recent full-length collection, Field Music, was published by FutureCycle Press in 2023. Visit him at www.sethjani.com.