Slipping silently from her clothes,  
our bride-to-be lowers herself into the wide river.   

She prays with her bridesmaids: Baruch Atah Adonai
Three immersions and three blessings.    

As dawn breaks, she launches   
a nimble swim across the water and back.   

Low slanting light flashes through trees
illuminates her arms and shoulders,  

with each kick of her slim feet, golden explosions.    
Purified, she scales the bank, rejoins her friends.  

They talk of love, of autonomy and interdependence.  
The river glows, quiets, follows its own path.