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
