River Prayer

River Prayer

Sarah Soltis

Tonight I sit and look out.
I listen: rain unravels
its threads, mercy from on high.
I am dreaming, tonight,
of the Severn: of July traveling
towards me to pull me back in time.

Tonight I forget all else but
for the ripples: the river encircled
the peninsula and I,
Singing with the crickets, without
words. Watching the citrus horizon
glisten with grace, bestowing water with sky.

Time sits here tonight, but not much.
My worst pastime, perhaps, 
is this rain-driven dream of mine:
this attempt at time travel.
But to watch wordless, pulled, 
is prayer of a cleansing kind.

---

Sarah Soltis
Poet & Editor

Sarah is managing editor of Front Porch Republic and a current student of English and Classics at Grove City College. Her essays have appeared in Front Porch Republic and The American Conservative, and her poetry has appeared in Transpositions and The Purpled Nail.

Photography by Amber Janssens