The river lies patient, respectable, within her bed.
The river is doing what she has been asked to do
by the orders of nature and design, which is to sit
and flow silty and quiet through her own body.
River is waiting for something more. River doesn’t know.
Love finds her face, froths her wild and unmakes her.
The lovesong named storm beckons her into foam.
When the river breaks her banks, she sings.
She is joyous. She laughs bright and cold,
runs young and clear past the arching reeds.
River learns a new kind of being for herself,
a new kind of name. A name strong and rich and
full of promise. A name for a water born for this.
A name for longer than forty days. A name like flood.
The river is doing what she has been asked to do
by the orders of nature and design, which is to sit
and flow silty and quiet through her own body.
River is waiting for something more. River doesn’t know.
Love finds her face, froths her wild and unmakes her.
The lovesong named storm beckons her into foam.
When the river breaks her banks, she sings.
She is joyous. She laughs bright and cold,
runs young and clear past the arching reeds.
River learns a new kind of being for herself,
a new kind of name. A name strong and rich and
full of promise. A name for a water born for this.
A name for longer than forty days. A name like flood.
Nora Hikari is a poet, artist, and Asian-American trans lesbian based in Philadelphia. Her work has appeared in or is forthcoming at West Trestle Review, ANMLY, and Ogma Magazine, among others, and her poem Deer-to-Fish Transition Timeline has been nominated for the Best of the Net award. Her debut chapbook, Dead Names, is forthcoming at Another New Calligraphy. She can be found at @norabot2.0 on Instagram and at her website norahikari.com.