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
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