Imagine
our town rests in a mountain-bowl
at twilight, common and small
as dust and dream but huge in life
beyond what it seems, its few lights jitter
on the river’s skin,
the dam pond’s spillway
lets its waters out as
upstream they come in
under a steel truss bridge,
the dam buoys’ stillness
under street-light drapes
upon a river’s surface
with a hue of grapes
as a ridgeline drops
like the backs of snakes
until it meets a flow
without grudge
or hates
Jim Culleny
11/14/20