the boat that ran away

The Boat That Ran Away

Afterwards, he said, he meant to pull in there.
He had planned to tie up and stay,
but the day the boat got away, he swore & slammed
his cooler against the pier, and he said that
I had chosen a bad port & how stupid it was
to pull up anywhere on a good river,
that had a free flow, just because of flowers.
And it was the flowers, their fault, I mean,
for diverting my attention, but the red paints
were in full bloom & I wanted to take them home with me.
So I forgot to tie up & he was busy checking the cooler.
I forgot everything but the blood red color & the soft
green of the grass in sunlight.
And the boat was restless & obviously somewhere
on the river, had developed a mind of its own.
Let's see, it may have mumbled, I believe
I will travel on a little on my own. A good day for it.
Or maybe it was just the weight of us & the arguing.
Either way, the little boat looked peaceful enough,
as it wandered away, perfectly content with its day.
I imagine, I should have pulled in earlier,
for he was man intent on free moving water, and not one
to waste much effort on anything that stayed solid.
So after a long rant, it was a long walk,
that could have been beautiful & the lost anchor
laughed off by love and patience, but instead
it was a long, tense walk back to the marina,
where the boat had been hauled in by the manager,
who had a reputation for being responsible.

Reviews

[W.k.kortas]

This is, quite simply, the full package--it's wonderfully paced, it's almost cinematically visual, the imagery is varied and inventive, and the narrative is just flat-out genius. This may be the finest of your works, which, by extension, means it stacks up favorably with any poetry produced anywhere, anytime. It's pretty much beyond praise.

[Emily B]

it speaks of Robert Frost and Edna St. Vincent Millay. It speaks of Phibby Venable and colorful experience. It speaks a lot for a short little piece of work.