they put her there,
built her concrete body
rolled asphalt into her crown
to hold back the water.

the water crawled with those slithering things:
manic mosquitos breeding disease in the still
depressed rocks displacing water at the bottom

rain for weeks

she digs her concrete fingers into the mountains
on either side

even those slime-covered rocks at the bottom
add weight

her body cracks imperceptibly
water seeps into those hair-thin lines

when the snow comes
ice expands her cracks

they put fish into the deep lake
that she holds back
the fish keep the mosquitos down

no more disease.

years of snow
more rocks have eroded from the nearby mountains
pushing against her crack-riddled concrete body

rain for weeks

the water breaks through her
first: in a spurt
next: an explosion

nothing in the years-dry riverbed survives