By autumn, the river has receded, the rocks show up and the beaches dry. The grasses along the edge still show the way the waters have molded their growth. Hay like hair, the earth its styles.

If she is earth,
Her vanity is her hair
Long and golden with the season,
Resting heavy in water.
She may appear smoothly combed or shoulders bare,
Blown and tossed.
If she is earth.