HP Rivers

  • Instructions

    Sitting on our dining room floor Assembling a cheap dresser With inadequate instructions You laugh and say, “Babe, I’m not doing feelings right now – I’m doing power tools.” I think, “I want to remember this moment When I am dying.” Because I have never been more in love Than I am here, in this…

    HP Rivers

  • Body

    The priest says,“This is the body of Christ”And I watch, wide eyed,As my grandfatherHumbly accepts the offeringOn his tongue. I wonder what Jesus tastes like. The priestess says,“May you never thirst”And I humbly accept the wine,Transmuted intoThe water of the wombThat held Jesus ChristAnd I wonderAbout Christ’s body. I wonder about his sweat,The itching of…

    HP Rivers

  • Things I’ve Learned During the Pandemic

    Things I’ve Learned During the Pandemic I can do hard things. This message is not finding anyone well,We all just show that differently. Always take a phone chargerWith you to the hospital. Children are not meantTo be raisedWithout the village. When everything elseIs stripped away,Love will remain. I can do hard things. And to wear…

    HP Rivers

  • Anxious Love

    We decide to write each other letters To open on our wedding day, The things too vulnerable to speak In front of Godde and everybody, I wonder, “What will happen to the letters?” We say, “til death do us part is for quitters,” but we will die one day, And I imagine your body in…

    HP Rivers

  • Resolution

    After months of delightingEvery time I caught a glimpse ofThe family of cardinalsThat lives in my back yard,Blessing the branchesThat kiss my bedroom windowWith their songs,Dancing with the moonIn their flight,I put up a feederChosen and filledEspecially for them. I figuredI can spend my entire life waitingFor that which delights meOr I can call it…

    HP Rivers

  • Meatballs

    Every time I make meatballs I think of my grandmothers. I wonder how far down the trunk Of my family tree One would have to travel To find the first woman In my lineage Who made meatballs For her family. It is not a family recipe I found it on the internet And changed it…

    HP Rivers

  • On the New Moon

    Beloved, There is nothing in this universe That is not for you. Every kiss exists To fall upon your cheek, Every song To entice your soul to dance, There is not a soul Who does not wish To dance with you, For all of creation Resides within the rhythm Of your heartbeat – You need…

    HP Rivers