cold water

there was a time when
peaches were pears and
time flowed over stones
like snow, melted from the winter

the rain never ceased and the sky was always grey

so slow, we were water by a river's edge
fingers soft and dipped, angled beneath the surface

an amber glow, all mist and mystery
over fields with
cows and sheep, and people brushing teeth,
pulling sheets back, getting bedding ready for sleep

the afternoon always made us feel as if the
sky was a lagoon in
which we could swim
a dead sea with clouds, oh that briney air

sometimes we would pretend
with our eyes open

the world is quiet here
there are only days between
us, and dipping feet
and fingers into cold water