what i hold onto like the green channel buoy
anchored and straining against the current
my mind drifting troubled thought to troubled thought
as i stoop right on the edge
where the mississippi river’s water meets the sand
watching pieces of wood float in like the one above
which comes to rest right at my feet
bobbing 2 inches from the sand
ringed in phosphorous foam
complete with grass blades, a leaf, a cigarette filter
and a black carpenter ant
running back and forth across the piece of wood
stopping right on the edge
where the water meets the wood
putting it’s front legs out into the water
touching it’s antennas on the water back and forth back and forth
like it wants to swim that last 2 inches to land
and then pulling back and trying it again
and again
human being human being
don’t tell me
you haven’t been there
trying to get there
right on the edge
where your dreams meet this world as it is
floating on your little piece
heat flow 