Drowning by the Light of Oranges

I pinned a star
              on the shadow
                            of your shoulder.

It sucked darkness
              into a mandarin flame
                            where you leaned

against a boat
              overflowing with ice
                            and oranges. You’re

a pinned flame,
              an asterisk of snow
                            disappearing in the thin

isolation of my dress;
              in nightcrush and suck,
                            ice shines

metal flowers.
              The river carries stars.
                            Fish bones flicker

beneath the surface
              littered with trout silk
                            and snow.

Your shoulder aligns
              itself with the stars—
                            orange light isolates

shadows of boats
              that appear flickering
                            silk on the ice-

flowered river.   I go under
              the snow’s crush, an
                            asterisk pinned in by

your shoulder.   Your shadow.

Copyright © 2005 Simone Muench All rights reserved
from Wicked Alice
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission