Drowning Downstream
by Deborah P. Kolodji
a nightgown's water lace
white foam over river rock
La Llorona looks for her children
night wails follow an empty kayak
bobs topsy-turvy after each cascade
the moon has a crooked smile
there is no pirate ship this far inland
no island of lost boys walking planks
no Disney endings
the spirit weeps, snatches
tendrils of darkening sky sweep youth
with relentless current
a bear hangs in the sky
the dipper is empty
upside down
seasons of mothers' tears
fathers search for sirens
who don't call to them
Deborah P. Kolodji is the president of the Science Fiction Poetry Association and a member of the Haiku Society of America. Author of over 800 published poems and four poetry chapbooks, she recently sold her first two short stories -- one to the Futuristic Motherhood Anthology and the other to THEMA. Both should be in print this summer.
When asked what mask would choose her, she replied, "If a mask was to choose me, it would be made of feathers from the squawking flock of wild parrots which fly over my house and influence my dreams."
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