pictured words

Image created by AI

Inspired by “ … and the river spoke in a language without words,” from The Dead of Night, a Measure of Rest after Karaoke by Mike Bayles

A River Sighs in Silence

Once the sky emptied itself,
moved on to another town,
and the swollen river below it
stopped chugging trees
and gorging children,
and the once-bawling waters waned,

the river’s shame released a sigh
too soft
too late for children’s ears
to hear.

© Marie Elena Good 2025

For the children of Camp Mystic, and all whose lives have changed from the recent flash floods.