Brain-submerged, I travel

on my toes until I'm

drowned in wanderlust,

until the river tied a noose

around my life,

putting it on pause,

shorting out the

wires that prevent me

from where I belong.

I grab feeble sticks

to construct a crooked

conduit across-

hoping to stroll

like a king over the peasants

of what used to be.

On bare feet, the black

sticks break like bones,

morphing into one

injured history.

I scale the last leg on all fours,

its green glaze

coaxing me to slide

back into my past.

 

I stand

on the other side.

The sun kissing

the clear water.

Reborn,

I emerge from

my new mother.

The bridge

purifies,

banks held higher

in hopes

of it filling.

The river radiates

transformation.

 

This water,

breeds life,

for me to see my reflection,

travels through backyards,

cleansing grim children.

 

I am

Moses

looking for

the Promise Land,

walking blindly

in an obsidian

opaque desert.

The New Land,

just as desolate

as the last,

burgeons with the

unclouded water that

glistens like

eyes of a blue jay

in headlights.