River Eyes
by Peter Lilly
The river’s high this time of year,
banks are fit to burst.
My eyes are heavy this time of night,
weighed with contentment.
My eyelids taste like floodwater,
filled with desperate need
de repos pour un coeur qui bouge,
comme un horloge cassé
qui saute, n’importe quand,1
to wake me,
like a familiar tongue in a foreign land.
1Translation of the French:
“… of rest for a heart that moves
like a broken clock
jumping at any time…”
Peter Lilly is a Pushcart and Best of the Net nominated poet who grew up in Gloucestershire, England. After studying theology and working with the homeless in London, he moved to the South of France in 2014. He lives in a rural village with his wife and son, where he concentrates on writing, community development and English teaching. He is the author of the collections ‘A Handful of Prayers’ (Wipf & Stock, 2024) and ‘An Array of Vapour’ (TSL Publications, 2023).