Promptly Poetry Entries (6/20 - 6/21)

River Crossing

The screech of the ice
was high-pitched and hoarse,
a pain-fueled shriek of childbirth
as the breech ran from bank to bank
unzipping the river’s protective cover,
creaking as it gave way beneath my feet.

My cry of panicked surprise
never escaped my lips.

A wave of shocks spread through my chest,
a spasmodic rush to fill the lungs unsatisfied.
My arms and legs fight to find the surface,
now stiff as tree limbs in the frigid water
they are useless to me.

The starred circle of light no longer above me,
my body unable to argue with the relentless current
urging me further into the darkness,
I fly with it into the unknown.
Carried downstream until finally, there is
a light of hope through open water.


I cannot rise to it. My lungs burn.
They ache for breath. The need
overwhelms, I must breathe
and I fill my lungs with water.
It is oddly satisfying, but oh,so heavy.
The river pulls me down,
tucks me between the rocks,
It is peaceful here.





Written for Promptly Poetry
Week 22 Prompt - cold water