One Night on the Riverbed

Nighttime medicine, 
Benzene blue his eyes and soul— 
How slowly we fall. 

Silent Lorelei,
An embrace of glassy green
On my skin again. 

Dark blue, pinhole stars,
My body the midnight sky
Bending over his.

Hand on hand. Dreams slip
Into the underbelly
Of the universe. 

In his wet embrace,
My birdlike heart skips a beat:
I could have lost this.

Resentful slingstone,
The constant work of ripples 
Will smooth you over.

Just because you know
That place of pain does not mean
You must reside there.  

Cichlid in my mouth. 
I drink to the end of his 
Drunken misconduct. 

Dawn breaks. Did you steal
Something from me or did you
Teach me a lesson?

On the riverbed,
The silent sunken pebble
Finds nothing but love.

Lorelei Bacht is a European poet who recently started writing again after moving to Asia, making two beautiful children and failing two marriages. Published last decade, under a different name, her previous work is no longer relevant. Her current work focuses on such themes as aging, motherhood, infidelity, and finding oneself as a nearly middle-aged woman. Some of her musings can be found on her Instagram feed.