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Margaret D. Stetz

Finding Virginia

Nothing is lost 

when we think back through 

the river

the Ouse is ours for all 

the years

wavering yet waving

a shadow on surface

sometimes a youth 

seen capering, hose and doublet

sometimes a woman 

dressed in a frock

spreading open her

book

if you dip a finger into

the water

your tongue can taste 

what Vita’s did—

a stringent sweetness 

from between the thighs

like the ripening of

limes

while along the banks

spaniels run free 

unleashed, snuffle air 

to smell the beauty and the fun

flush

with liberty and love

birds sing in Greek 

their memories from ancestors

who once observed 

a goddess step into the swell

stones in her pockets

clutching a barren walking stick

that blossomed with flowers

a bouquet for a party

this trail is always fresh

as a morning in June

leading out from 

one’s room 

through a window 

where she awaits 

we plunge with her into 

our voyage out

Escape.jpg

THE COURTSHIP OF WINDS

© 2015 by William Ray

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