Riverbank Reflections
after Sergei Yesenin
The old wooden ferry creaks beneath the weight of villagers carrying baskets of freshly picked apples and mushrooms for market the smell of damp earth and riverweed clings to their clothing as they disembark
On the riverbank a young girl sits her feet bare and her skirt pulled up to her knees as she gazes out at the water her dark hair loose in the breeze a fishing net lies abandoned beside her
I drew from Sergei Yesenin's fascination with rural Russia and his use of earthy, direct diction to describe the lives of peasants and the natural world. I aimed to capture the simplicity and rustic authenticity of his style in this poem.