it fell upon this paper, a muddied river

2.13.2008

 

it fell upon this paper, a muddied river

 

and with each lettered word

that falls upon this paper,

I spell response

 

I respond to life that

calls out to me and I

am flooded with whispers

 

before me lay

a muddied river that flows

stronger than any wind that blows

 

the river that leads and ends

with some unknown destination

 

I built this raft to ride upon

I gave myself this single oar

 

from the river’s source I am carried

with only a pole to guide me

 

as I near the rivers end

the water becomes clear

and the water becomes salty

 

the sun shines bright

I, with my bleached shirt

 

waves splash upon my raft

I, with my salty hair

 

the ocean before me is vast

I, with my single oar

 

my raft is tightly bound

as the oar turns to mast

and shirt fashioned into sail

 

the muddied river lay behind me

and I call back,

flooding her with whispers

 

for each lettered word

that fell upon this paper,

I spelled response.

 

 

 

 

Kevin M. Reader

 

Reviews

[Jessica M.]

the image of calling back to the muddied water is deep,
i like the way the poem is set up.
amazing piece.

[Raef C. Boylan]

I like this - it's like an extended analogy brought to life.
The refrain of "I, with my" works well.

I always feel that full stops at the end of poems without punctuation look strange; I understand the desire for finality, but the full stop says to me [Grammar Nazi that I am] that this poem = one sentence...which I don't think it does[?]

Good attention to imagery and tone throughout.
Overall, a great piece. Deserves more reviews.