(Poem) Amber/honey/river/mirror by Donna Snyder

Amber drips from her ears and wrists like honey

I hear the sound of brass bells

She dances me up into a fog of purple smoke

I see a hall of mirrors and as I pass by each mirror

I see not my face but the face of all my loves

I find myself beside a dying river

“From my mouth to yours”

I say it out loud as I drip honey into the water

lick my own sweet fingers

I hear wind through the cane

It sounds like laughter

The river accepts the honey dripping from my flesh

and is gone

I am on a desert mountain rough and dry

I find a pot of sweet water and know that today I will not die

With a needle I stitch together the fabric of my life

and yours

I look into the mirror and I see your face

 Published in Matrix, June 1999