ancestral riverbank

entangled with the riverbank,

I lay as my eyes watch the

clear liquor flow.

my body aches movement, but --

the water creates a blockade

between my throat and free breath.

at night, the moonlight glimmers

upon every surface,

but it does not reach me --

beneath these waters, I dehydrate.

diluting my trembled words,

blocking the incandescent sunlight -

paling my yellow-tan heritage.

silence carries itself, poised and poisoned,

through my veins, into my capillaries,

into my cells --

like oxygen, guaranteeing my survival.

in legends, carved on stone:

water is liberated, it is

the core of earth’s manufactures.

it cannot be overthrown.

it cannot be obliterated.

but soon enough, the riverbank erodes,

tracing a unique shape in the land that

was once deemed permanent.

the sediment prompts ripples,

radiating to every border.

soon enough, the stones that once

held me down will dissipate --

and I will be set free.