Bangladesh (A Riff) Poem by David McLansky

Everywhere I stand, I stand in water
It's wide expanse defines the border;
My country sinking into the sea,
The waters lapping at my knee;
My country now a muddy brown
The roofs submerged below their crown
The water lapping at the poles,
The tidal waves toss wooden bowls.
This was once an idyllic spot,
Woven mats float in the rot;
Graceful stands of bending trees
Sad victims of expanding seas.
Were I a fish with breathing gills,
A floating bird, bobbing, still,
I'd bid my children to follow me,
We would have rescue from the sea.