portion of the artwork for Sam Rasnake's poetry

Not Standing in the Same River Twice
Sam Rasnake

Now, it seems, I forget most everything as if
time were a pocket hole and empty fingers,
the truth—somehow real and unforgiving—

like the distant thread of mountains, one
fresh-carved piece of cedar in the hand, or
sunset over a winter fence. No one stands

by the oleander. The wood chimes almost
give me a song. I’ll move the wasps tomorrow.
Otherwise, the porch is mine. Seas thrum

in my head, a reminder of the day’s hard gift.
Something to lie down in, to find the thickest
measure of body against body, an ache to dream

one sunrise closer. At the road’s edge, a water oak
bends over the pond’s lip. The surface smooths
its ripples to mirror. I’ve little left to do—


“Between the word and the world lie
Fading eternities of soon”
—Laura Riding Jackson


Return to Archive




FRiGG: A Magazine of Fiction and Poetry | Issue 56 | Fall/Winter 2020