Poetry

River In Flood

by

Diana Dominguez

Just how do you decide what to leave behind?
Mama's jewelry, the kids' baby books, grandma's China,
Grandpa's' uniform, great-grandma's wedding dress
The one five generations had worn,
The one little Katie was supposed to wear one day.

Joe from next door came over last week,
Helped me move what we could to the attic.
Mavis's broken voice last summer haunts me still ?
"there was just too much water loosened the foundation;
The whole house swept away down the river it's all gone."

How did those ancient Egyptian women cope
When the mighty Nile swept their lives away?
Did they pray to Isis, Bastet, or Ra as they
Wrapped their memories in linen and walked away
Only to return to nothing and start again year after year?

Maybe the rains will end tonight.
Maybe the river will stop rising.
Maybe my prayers will be heard.
Maybe I won't have to fit more than fifty years
Into a few suitcases I can carry.