A river stumbles out of the mountains 
as Pearl Street unwinds:    bolts of bright 
sailcloth rippling down rugged trails     
This morning on the bridge we gazed at water 
slipping over rocks    seething at every spur 

In the afternoon a skateboarder whirred 
on tiny wheels down Pearl    From the porch 
we watched him unfurl like raw silk    surfing 
the yellow hyphens    his tight weave 
spilling downhill on the simplest bearings    

Was that the moment you turned to me 
speaking of reinvention    of risks worth taking:    
streamers    ribbons    the narrows below    
unraveling gravity’s hold