l wish l could have known you Nick
and asked you about the River man
and l would have told you
you had a beautiful soul.
l wish l had met you Nick
and we could have sang the River man
because l could see in your eyes
you had more to say.
l wish you could have seen
You were like a gentle breeze
that lost its way in the night
not knowing where it belonged
l wish l could have told you
that l knew You were the River man
and you did belong
and your music did arrive
into our hearts, forever.
Nick Drake, musician and songwriter 1948-1974
Categories:
riverman, missing you, remember, song,
Form: Free verse
furred Spanish moss
feathered tendrils in a bathtub
women’s manes trailing
trembling in swirls
love in a Slidell swamp
four-legged fluffs
scurrying after marshmallows
masks and clawed infant fingers
“fist bump?
they’ll tear your fingers clean off.”
swirling lazy river
no nobuled heads of muddy gray
no blinking sleepy winter eyes
missing ‘gaters in the Mississippi
bow hovering
stern swimming
five measly feet of polluted drainage
and a shallow skiff
piloted by a riverman with a motor
a beard of stories:
nutria rats taste better than frog legs
and swamp folk watch LSU football
Categories:
riverman, animal, river, travel,
Form: Free verse