Sandra Marchetti is the author of Confluence, a full-length collection of poetry from Sundress Publications (2015). She is also the author of four chapbooks of poetry and lyric essays, including Heart Radicals (About Editions, 2018), Sight Lines (Speaking of Marvels Press, 2016), A Detail in the Landscape (Eating Dog Press, 2014), and The Canopy (MWC Press, 2012). Sandra’s poetry appears widely in Poet Lore, Blackbird, Ecotone, Southwest Review, River Styx, and elsewhere. Her essays can be found at The Rumpus, Whiskey Island, Mid-American Review, Barrelhouse, and other venues. Sandy earned an MFA in Creative Writing—Poetry from George Mason University and now serves as the Coordinator of Tutoring Services at the College of DuPage in the Chicagoland area. ---------
Reservoir
The roots in the water
entangled my legs
as I swam up to
a stone for breath.
I talked to a couple
of guys baiting
lines slimed by
the depths, surrounded.
When I waded out
further, the green
nets swept around
and carried me—
I opened my eyes
underneath to see
aquas and blues glow
briefly to mystery.
Others said the vines
crept like eels on
the skin, tugs
toward total immersion.
I thought how novel
that someone sipped
from this, a tendril slipped
between each breath.