riverbanks hum in percussion
clay wrists coated in copper dusk
we trade gourd rattles for rainwater
spill lullabies in syncopated hush

delta breathes steam on our shoulders
braids marsh grass into braided crowns
each reed spelling grandmother names
that never made the manifest

some drums are anchored beneath silt
still, sound escapes through minnows
who memorize the hook-line of healing
and scatter it upstream

gatherers cup palms to the tide
receiving glitter flecks of memory
palaver of distant cousins carried
on foam-bright envelopes of light

i wade until ankles forget asphalt
until breath aligns with herons
until i can hear the hush-hush
call-and-response of galaxies

river says: write me truthful
river says: let no border fence your mouth
river says: tend the children
who remix thunder into classroom chatter

we answer with kalimba callouses
with laugh lines salted by brine
with brass bracelets chiming midnight
against the hull of a dancing canoe

when the moon slides low and wide
we scatter pollen over the current
blessing every shoreline that still
chooses us back.