The New Bridge Poem by Zoë Skoulding

as the vein runs
under fragile reconstructions
of what was holding us together
the river made of time and water
I walk beside the swing of your pulse
and your heart pumps
in both directions at once
the lines of the landscape
run through me to somewhere else
sight lines shriek into the present
loyalties tattooed in rose and gold
stop my mouth for
we are water and time
runs through us
the river sings between be-
tween rose and gold the blood
runs between us outlines of fish
in the shadows slipping green
on this side of the river we and on that side they