Juliana v. United States

Toes steeped, seeping into the silken silt

Juliana leaps 

from the safety of the present river bank

Landing weightless

upon lily-pad of parchment

grasping a yellow flowerbud

soon to blossom

‘fore falling into the depths 

of generational despair. 

With each passing second

she descends deeper 

down

into the darkest depths 

of the lagoon, 

lapsing past each empty 

promise. 

Promise me

you’ll care for the hopes of feeble ancestors.  

Yet, ionic bonds 

hold strong,

gripping one another, 

dragging surface tension

with downward motion, 

like newlyweds peeling smoke-stained wallpaper. 

Do not let go, Juliana,

pull this watery pit to the shallow end and 

resuscitate, rewrite 

the lily-pads of parchment

that drowned long ago in soul.

Michael Carney