-at Quequechan Pond-

the freshwater pond

blanches the skin,
reddens the eye

and dampens

the granite foot

of the textile mill

at the banks above it.

there, the water takes

on its color of quarried

stone, the rust-tinge of iron

adds to its weight.

the boys and their girls

restrain themselves here —

different here than the active
attitudes covering
the saltwater beaches around them.

It’s quarried stone,
the age of iron

at the water's banks

which lends itself

to the weight of silence
in a place such as this.

there are things to consider
while walking into standing fresh water.

                                  early in Fall River