How To Describe Water Without Using the Word

By Chris Costello

Start with the skyline. Start with
cement, concrete, steel.
the permanence of bustle.

Then, the harbor. Then the
merchant ships, the clamor of
commerce. The stink of dead fish.

Later comes the churning, 
beyond sight. A predator
rears its frothing head.

Finally, the rubble.

---

Chris Costello is a student at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, with poetry appearing in "Ghost City Review," "Stone Canoe," and "Nine Mile Magazine."