The Washer of the Ford   by William Sharp     There is a lonely stream afar in a lone dim land; It hath white dust for shore it has, white bones bestrew the strand: The only thing that liveth there is a naked leaping sword; But I, who a seer am, have seen the whirling hand Of the Washer of the Ford.   A shadowy shape of cloud and mist, of gloom and dusk, she stands, The Washer of the Ford: She laughs, at times, and strews the dust through the hollow of her hands. She counts the sins of all men there, and slays the red-stained horde - The ghosts of all the sins of men must know the whirling sword Of the Washer of the Ford.   She stoops and laughs when in the dust she sees a writhing limb: "Go back into the ford," she says, "and hither and thither swim; Then I shall wash you white as snow, and shall take you by the hand, And slay you in the silence with this my whirling brand, And trample you into the dust of this white, windless sand" - This is the laughing word Of the Washer of the Ford Along that silent strand.   (Animation by Marco Reese)   WILLIAM SHARP   POETRY PAGE