The story so far (in reverse chronological order)....
Hi Mike,
"Rowing"???
Now there's a thought for a chilly afternoon... Three poets in a boat! LOL!
I once heard Jamie McKendrick (a UK poet) make the simple statement (I think
it was in some TV or radio discussion) that every poem is an answer to the
question "why write poetry" but I'm sort of moving on from the subject a
little by repeating that...
Bob
Poems about writing poems.- Deborah
>Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 09:18:40 +0300
>
>Absolutely true. And sometimes a poem about anything - like rowing, for
>instance - is actually about writing poetry.
>
>
>Best wishes, Mike
>
>>Sometimes a poem about writing poetry, isn't a poem about writing
>poetry. Just a thought.
>
>Deborah
>
My Craft
If I could only control these oars,
everything would be all right,
but they donīt seem designed
for the transmission of intention - mine -
into control - of my craftīs direction.
I know which way I should go.
I saw your friendly wave from the bank
and didnīt respond only for fear of releasing
my grip on these uncertain oars.
Did you wonder at my failure to stop?
my apparent preference for some other spot?
I noticed your look of puzzlement
as I drifted past without sign or signal,
my smile at that distance, perhaps,
not clear, or strained into a grimace
by my efforts. No matter, I thought,
I would explain all later and we would laugh
over how my course had not been smooth.
That was before the wind got up.
How this small boat rocks.
One oar paddles the air
while the other, buried deep in the swell,
almost pitches me into the black water
and my bow rotates at right angles
to where I would go. Boat and oars
are quite impervious to my desires.
The waves buffet with a wilful persistence,
trying to tell me something;
we are in control. No surprise considering
my best instrument for wresting dominion
from the unruly elements
is a long stick with a flattened end.
Itīs too late now, anyway.
Even if I learned to control these oars,
it would make not one whit of difference.
Mike
A poem about rowing or a poem about writing poetry?
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