Item: wide river inhales
free of its white icy gag
blue water breathes
Item: one of Dimitri’s staff
climbs atop the last pile of snow
to change the sign: Open Fri to Sun
Item: grizzled old Jim chops ice
out front of his boathouse
to cut a channel for his fishing boat
Item: a pair of Canada geese
waddle over a darkening pan of ice
that clings to the shoreline
Item: a dazzling young woman
who ran daily all winter
jogs the river path bare shouldered
Item: an adolescent fuzz
beards the trees along river’s edge
softening the chaotic twig tangle
Item: dream of lounging on the beach
immersed in the liquid music
of children, birds and water
Item: memories of summers future
sing in the smiles and eyes
of everyone on the winding river road
