Allan Peterson

Seeing the Yazoo

​Once the dead were just across a river
I recalled that seeing the Yazoo
No boatman upstream but a winch
and a rusted platform
to take oneself across by pulleys and ropes
Cypress on the far side
seemed expectant and gathered at the edge
A shadow was breathing for my shirt

Complex is inexhaustible  The world is
everything and what imagination adds 
You can see how enormous this gets

Instead of crossing we wrote our wishes 
on paper boats and sent them downstream