Mississippi Yearning

By Alexis Casner, 18, Minnesota

you are a veiny thing

a gossamer serpent stretching its neck from stem to stern

perpendicular to the setting sun, 

you run

              and coil yourself in the ridges of forgotten and hollowed-out towns 

                             crater towns,

                             hanging whisper towns,

              towns that hold their breath when the whir of an engine passes through.

you burrow slinky flesh inside frosted, middle-earth plains 

              warming yourself under a sun that hangs low and syrupy on the edge 

              of oblivion

branch off and sink tender fangs into fertile soil,

              leaching venom into Gaia’s molten veins

and then slither past the hills.

miles later, your tail slips purchase on unsteady ground

               nestled in your nettled namesake, 

               wriggled deep in marsh and pine,

your silken scales nest in the quaggy streets of mardi-gras 

               hiss along to the beat of 

                              soul-rattling-heart-thumping-blood-pumping brass 

                             wild magnolias and hawketts

               curl around bayous where the air hangs musk and thick–

then squirm away 

leaving slimy wet mud-trails in your wake.

will you pour yourself into me

before you spill yourself unto the wild world? 

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Recently, a local corporation in my hometown has been sued for polluting our waterways—and as a resident of “The Land of 10,000 Lakes,” water has always been something I’m proud of. Water pollution is a growing threat around the globe, especially in low-income and underrepresented communities, and I have failed to recognize that fact until recently. This poem is an ode to my favorite waterway, the Mississippi River, and a promise to continue valuing our most important resource.

Instagram: @al.excalibur