Cross Draw
By Deb Frasier
Cross: to object,
like teenagers,
beautiful and dangerous,
objecting to the current,
any current,
driving through the night
on secret mission,
gambling, fingers crossed,
that love will save everything.
the bridges bursting
into flames behind her.
Draw: to pull close,
or to render, through
eye + hand + heart,
a picture of life,
marking down what we see
with whatever little
skill we have learned,
pulling it close,
drawing it into us
through our careful attention
to light and the daily details.
The current is strong.
The way is rocky.
“Cross,” she says
pressing the gas,
“Draw,” you answer
reaching wide,
pulling her across the river
where love, executed
however clumsily,
however beautifully
bring her to rest,
for a moment,
in a quiet pocket
just out of the
tumble of a river
that is pulling
us all
to the ocean.
For Carla, Bois Brule River, 2004
© 2006 Deb Frasier
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