From heights, I see the clay spill dam-- a simple
berm that forms a bridge


From heights, I see the clay spill dam astride
the rill, it cleaves that wall and
It's bigger at the bottom.

From heights, I see the clay spill dam-- its sides
conceal
clay spill dam-- its sides appeal
clay spill dam. A slide reveals
clay spill dam, a wide ordeal


clings the walls
on either side. It's bigger at the bottom.

From heights, I see the clay spill dam, a wide
expanse of earthen fill that clings the walls
on either side. It's bigger at the bottom.

Fresh water streams, then pools a time. Yet
lurking on the leeward side, a sluice conducts
the excess through. It's murky, what comes after.


the banks and seems to climb

From heights, I see the clay spill dam. It binds
the banks and seems to climb

span
engulfs



a wide

From heights, I see the clay spill dam, a wide
From heights, I see the clay spill dam, a guide
From heights, I see the clay spill dam, a bride

heap clad by dirt each side

From heights, I see the clay spill dam, a rock
heap clad by dirt each side

a wide, a guide, where time

bide, dried, eyed, glide, guide, hide, plied, pride, pried,
pryde, ride, side, sighed, slide, tide, tied, tried, vied, wide
ok, you've got a 'rock heap' idea. relate it to grave markers? does everything have to have a double meaning?
can some things just be description?

yes, if SHARP description. you haven't reached that...
geezuz i need inspiration this @#%$ line is killing me

one other requirement you can't avoid-- this stanza must balnce 'liquid' sounds: L R M N Y W
with 'plosives': K T D P

'a bridge, a bank' - doesn't work because words are harsh
and you use a gimmick- parallelism


From heights, I see the clay spill dam, a berm
to bridge the gap between this shore
'bridge the gap'- too cliche?

From heights, I see the clay spill dam, a berm
that bridges gaps between this shore


Tailing
It chokes
It holds, holding
It joins
far bank to river bed with walls that tail beyond
my voice to richy sudsy yawning.

within the canyon, yawning.

dam:
bar, brake, check, choke, close, confine, hinder, hold, hold back, impede, obstruct, repress, restrain, restrict, retard, slow, stop up, suppress


bank, barrage, barrier, dike, ditch, embankment, gate, grade, hindrance, levee, milldam, millpond, obstruction
berth, buttress, column, dock, jetty, landing, levee, mole, pierage, pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, post, promenade,
quay, sea wall, slip, upright, wharf, wharfage

travail, forsail, assail, inhale, curtail, derail, exhale, non-pareil

From heights, I see the clay spill dam. Confined
to banks, it fills the

from heights, i see the clay spill dam. confined
to banks, it rises from the bed to face the cold
hard river current of the day.

rill

From heights, I see the clay spill dam. It spreads
its earthen berm from bank
to bank
to banks, it flings its berms
it bridges tears of ether passed in solly waves
and effort to day's longing.

close, long, border, distant, distaff, wide, great,


of honesee farmers there
in kepsy newage longing.

of hair in kindnees there with hopes of newage longing.

of canyons bare with loamy terns at capture.

its own gray thin walls, be al in shine
it holes along and gozies pummel after.
milieu

still, frill, hill, kill, sill, will, until
from heights, i see the clay spill dam,
confined to banks, it holds the ground until

bill, chill, dill, drill, frill, gill, grill, grille, hill, ill, kill, krill, mille, nil, nill,
pill, quill, rill, shill, shrill, sill, skill, spill, still, thrill, til, till, trill, twill, will,
distill, downhill, fulfill, instill, refill, until, uphill


From heights, I see the clay spill dam-- tailings
bermed from bank to bank. It clings to bed of stone
and sand and bridges lefty longing.

it clings to berms of earth and sand

functions of dam:
bridge, causeway, hold back, release, levee, gravel, tier, berm, slope, rock, boulder, promontory, outcrop,

It seems to cling to what it knows and surfs for what comes afte
it rises, spared
clad in seamy fogs of nuance
fault to kensee nude day longing.
to banks, it rises clad to spray the day to graze on plains.
defined by walls, it still restrains

canyon's awning
it seems to stretch from berm to flank
and green beyond the river's edge until the canyon's awning.
as if the canyon's yawning.


from heights i see the clay spill dam, a far-flung berm
of earth and sand that rises plaid to sleet the day

it rises clad in seamless fog to smelt the day

it thrusts its bill

impede, trammel, retard, obstruct, suppress, occlude, fetter,

leadsin lentil lenten lantern

atare son new boyne beaks attest lee mourning plaster.
it cleaves the walls between
rill: a small chasm created by erosion; a small stream
defined by banks, it fills the wall
with care and subsumed bits of kensee irish newbies.
with nugent streamed from mountain leech in kensee iris lagnappe.
confined to banks,
it cleaves to walls unsure of time nor how much they'll sought after.


leaden trails of those who'd bend before they'd alter soybeans.

creased in
encoding swales
bewitching scales

boot heel lace strap sole instep leather

coding sails stum way walt brands whence kence the amsey rudolph
to flimsy pagan altars.

they salt away through viscous clouds to whimsy altar pagan.
they wind their way through salt feet clay to pagan altars.

confined to banks, it fills the void
between our selves and our true god
a homey tangent new verse.
from heights, i see the clay spill dam. confined to banks,
within its gray thin walls
within its gray thin walls
fills its gray, thin walls
adhere, attach, border, edge,
encase, fetter, fix, fold, furl,
hook on, hook up, lace, lap, lash, leash, pinion, put together,
restrain, restrict, rope, shackle, stick, strap, swathe, tack on, tether, tie, tie up, trammel, trim, truss, unite,
wrap, yoke


tether
restrain
pinion
unleash
entice
unfurl
redress

beach, berry bank, caisse populaire, cay, cliff, coast, edge, embankment, lakefront, lakeshore,
lakeside, ledge, levee, oceanfront, reef, riverfront, riverside, sea bank, seaboard, seafront,
shore, strand, streamside, waterfront

array, dashboard, group, line, rank, row, sequence, series, succession, tier
amass, deposit, heap, hill, hoard, invest, lay aside, lay away, mass, mound, pile, put by, salt away, save, sock away, speculate, squirrel, stash
bend, camber, cant, incline, pitch, slant, slope, tilt

Fresh water streams, then pools a time. Yet
lurking on the leeward side, a sluice conducts
the excess through. It's murky, what comes after.

The lake, bedammed by cement walls, swells
its wales to sportsman height; concrete reminder
of a time when fish tails swept unfettered.

why would being confined to banks matter a damn?

unmoveable/inflexible
unmoving, steady
where else would it go?
is there a reason why it could be compared to people? is there a benefit in being held back? hmmmm.....

mormon view- we're here to learn how to handle our permanent heavenly tasks. a loving father would not put us in a situation we are ill-equipped to handle

this bank to that bank? near/far close/distant familiar/strange

but avoid mixing the metaphor- in next stanza, dam is death

so, perhaps-- HOW the dam was built-- in increments, differing materials for different layers/aspects, preparation, diversion, scraping the banks, removing unwanted material, designing containment and overflow options, intake manifolds, moving valuable artifacts (graves/towns/archeological sites) prior to construction

hmmmm....
recreational aspects- related to life, dam was designed to provide a better native habitat and to provide pleasurable activities to humans swimming, abundant gamefish, water sports, just plain damn beauty of site, tours of interior (nahh, not for a clay dam)

hmmm...
as dam grew, it got thinner- needed less support and is only strong if foundation is hugely wide