Shall we gather at the river – a poem by Marilyn McCabe

Shall we gather at the river

If angels trod here,
they had thin splayed toes,
or the sharp angles
of hooves.

We know this river.
have marked its source
with coded emblem, with cairn.
Have ringed its mouth
with marina, refinery,
casino and clam bar.

We have sent men
to plot its path,
graph its depth and runoff;
have found shiny town
and shanty, shirtless fishermen,
and willow.

Nowhere
have we found
a throne.

And yet, here we are, some of us
surprised. We look
around at our skinny selves,
shifting, uneasy, some of us,
silly really, without hat or suitcase.

Only these smooth
pebbles at our feet
to palm and skim
endless over the river.

Marilyn McCabe‘s work has garnered her an Orlando Prize from A Room of Her Own, the Hilary Tham Capital Collection contest award from The Word Works resulting in publication of her book of poems Perpetual Motion, and two artist grants from the New York State Council on the Arts. Her second book of poems, Glass Factory, was published in 2016. Her poems and videopoetry have been published in a variety of print and online literary magazines. She blogs about writing and reading at Owrite:marilyonaroll.wordpress.com.