Last dip of the year

Her body was as shy as berries when she stepped
as neatly as a hind out of the bush
she had unrobed in.

And stood there trembling on the edge
above the careless water, summoning
her little courage for the cold plunge.

Till at length she jumped, and folded
all her innocence
into the clear hands of the river.

Her tiny, berry-crimson breasts flared out
like signals from the cool depths, warning
of another season’s turning and the spates to come.