~ Delta Poetry Review ~

Leslie Hodge

The Weight of Water

                                                      after Jericho Brown

Under the water, his green eyes open,

lies my father, slid off the raft.

Slick with sunscreen, he slid off the raft.

The Truckee river flows snow-cold and fast.

My sisters and I leap off the boat fast.

The raft, empty, rakes boulders and rocks.

Shoved by the current, we smash into rocks,

scraped knees and elbows, blood in the water.

Slipping, we struggle to hold him above water.

Ahead is the rush and roar of the rapids.

The raft, gaping empty, slings over the rapids.

In a human chain, we strain to hold him.

Our lungs soaked and burning, we fail to hold him.

Under swift water, he lies with eyes open.

Leslie Hodge has poems published in Catamaran Literary Reader, The Main Street Rag, South Florida Poetry Journal, ONE ART, Whale Road Review, and elsewhere. Her chapbook, Escape and other poems, was published by Kelsay Books in 2024. Leslie is currently reading for The Adroit Journal. She lives in San Diego, and her website is www.lesliehodgepoet.com