Because the landing was swamped

by backwater and because

we couldn’t push our boats

far enough by shoving them

with all our weight up onto dry land

we are left without buoyancy

and the stars begin their dance

slow and majestic and ancient

overhead to shine on us that yes

all of this has happened before

enumerable times tolling away

as mountains crumble into massive

rivers and trees defend the soil

by dragging it in their roots

out to open sea on the fast current

of the silver silted river

to where icebergs resume

their melting course

past our perception and the trees’

perception and the stalled

emotive grind of the mountains

so infinitesimally in slow motion

that it takes slower eyes than ours

to see

walking all day