Ripples
The Swan Creek bike bridge lies quiet,
wooden planks slippery with algae, a sign warns.
We look out on this snowless November day:
An elm has fallen in since our last passage.
Its dark, clawing fingers try to damn
the brackish water, shallow from drought.
The still water reflects sheep clouds,
motionless in the pale blue sky. Both belie
the fury of the times, now and ahead.
From detritus at the creek bottom,
bubbles rise, break the surface in circles,
rippling outward, in ways we cannot imagine.
JEANNE BLUM LESINSKI is a Michigan-based writer and multi-media artist. She holds a BA in French from DePauw University and has worked in publishing as an editor and freelance writer in several areas, including children’s books, lifestyle magazines, and most recently poetry and memoir inspired by contemporary life. Her poems, art-poem hybrids, and creative nonfiction have appeared or are forthcoming in journals and online, including Quartet, Dunes Review, and Literary Mama. Her debut poetry collection, Tethers End, appeared in 2023 from Shanti Arts. Visit her at jeanneblumlesinskiwriter.com.
