Vessel

A body holds a tiny
flipper of a thing:
fin or wing on a slip
of sand. The moon

begins its odd
pull. Round belly. White
saucer. Clean break on the surface:
a star this side

of dying. Thin-veined leaf picks up the
pieces. Studies the break,
the transparency of skin.
Blue rivers. Bone.

This body is mine alone.

The river flickers
downstream.

Copyright © 2005 Linda Cooper All rights reserved
from Elixir
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission