Old Woman at the River, and: Cougnac, and: A Season of Acid Rain
Rent from DeepDyve- Old Woman at the River, and: Cougnac, and: A Season of Acid Rain
Old Woman at the River
on the bank of the riverI climb inside my sleeping bagsleep is good if I am notkept awake by coughingthe sound of the water soothestime passes and does not passwhen I am better I will sitand meditate for a whilethere may be birds to listen tothen I will climb down the bankand put my naked foot in the waterwhich will shock at first,being so cold, so swift.
Cougnac
Scratches of bear claws along the wallsnow we are a kilometer deep says the guide
the horses appear to smilethey feel whole and well on the limestone ceiling
an adult ibis and a young onewalk side by side, also smiling [End Page 7]
they have lived on the ceiling along with dozensof other animals for twenty thousand years
I cannot leave I feel my heart slowingmy breath slower and slower
In Cap Blanc the horses are dignifiedIn Lascaux they gallop
Twenty thousand years ago we touched the stonewe understood birth and death
we had language but no word as yetfor immortality
some of us thought they themselves were horsesor bison and my husband says do you notice
we have seen thousands of animals painted and carvednone fighting—what does this tell us
about the peopleabout the artists
A Season of Acid Rain
We like to lay our heads on Gaia's breastsGaia's breasts pouring milkthe weeds growing out of her handsthe birds and insects flitting from her scalpher grey bones challenging our climbdragon fire from her mouthbut now her tears—we didn't know a goddess could cryor that the tears of a goddess could be contaminatedmother please stop itwe do not like to see our mother cry [End Page 8]
Alicia Ostriker's most recent book, Waiting for the Light, received the 2017 National Jewish Book Award for Poetry. Ostriker is currently a Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets.
