Estuary

I landed by the murky river for a spell
beside the other bleached and barkless dogs
that lay about like scattered Linkin Logs
some peevish giant hand had sent pell-mell,
and though I try, I can’t dispel

this current deep inside that pulls me down
to scuttle on the bottom as a crab
who doesn’t care if things are cold and drab
for that just makes it easier to drown
within the tributary frown

that leaves alluvial soil flecked with gilt
adjacent to the harshly pounding sea
which swallows solid ground methodically
along with any levees that are built
until there’s nothing left but sordid silt.