warm nights and steady water
the wharf busy with post-colonial romances
tourists drunk on bourbonism
some stop at the sign listing all the famous folks
who landed here: presidents no one remembers
writers no one reads. warm nights
as barges hug the shipping lane
plucking the mooring lines
the river is a giant erhu
lines act as strings this song
a sad and beautiful one
a serenade sounding all the way
to Santa Monica Pier all the way
sung beyond hearing
in strong counter currents
rolling towards bloody Cairo