Red River
by Troy Reeves

"And he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river,
in the sight of Pharoah, and in the sight of his servants; and all the
waters that were in the river were turned to blood."
--Exodus 7:20

The ropes we were reeving in fell slack
As the river bucked and we tumbled back
In the rocking boat and watched our catch
Crash into view, a netted silver batch
Of cats, bloated and bleeding from the gills
And eyes. Scores of twisting river eels
Crackled on the water under puffs of smoke.
With a roar a twelve-foot crocodile broke
The surface, snapped at the sky, went calm,
Straightened, and began to drift like a palm
Log downriver. Wondering, we looked around:
From Memphis upriver to the delta down
Old Nilus had turned to blood. Smallfry
By the thousands popped into the sky,
Then fell like hail, pebbling our blue,
Sacred river into a glistening avenue
Paved silver with the dead and dying.
Our pounding oars sent the water flying
As we beat our way to shore. Reaching
The bank, we lept overboard, and, beaching
Our boat among the reeds, walked inland
To search the endless miles of sand,
Desperately seeking by night and day
A virgin spring to wash our stains away.

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Red River by Troy Reeves

Red River
by Troy Reeves