Drawn from the Water

Put the baby on the small boat, put her on the water,

let her float downstream to see where river

sends her. She may leave the country of her birth

or land just the edge of this county, held by reeds,

lullabied by the bu-bu-wah of red-winged blackbirds,

lifting her up, readying her for the flight, the fight,

the famine and fire, and finally--late in life, the light.

--with thanks to Russell Goff for offering the bird call