Monday, May 2, 2011

this empty rowboat

the rowboat claude monet


the knot had worked its way loose
or perhaps i had pushed it away from the dock
no matter . . .
somehow it had set adrift

this empty rowboat
now turning slowly in the current

i followed its progress from the riverbank
using a well-worn path
in whose dusty script
i could read the stories
of the passage of others

long aisles of trees
ripe with the feathered green
of early summer
peered down
to read the words of my journey
each letter written in dew
on pale clustering flowers

at a widening in the river
i left the path for the purple slopes of a hill
where, safe from the world's gaze
i watched as countless rowboats
- all mirrors of my own -
bumped hollowly against each other
lost in their reflections

8 comments:

Kathleen said...

Ah, Steven--this is lovely. I especially love the restraint in the words and in the action, how simply following the flow of the river required no "fighting to go upstream." The surrender and the reward, so beautifully illustrated.

OceanoAzul.Sonhos said...

In the boat of our life, often drifting, it is necessary to continue rowing until you find a safe haven. There, we must stop, think and go on.
I like your write. Beautiful paint for claude monet.
Have a nice day steven.
oa.s

Reya Mellicker said...

I love this. Thank you for some gentle beauty this morning, for some beautiful vision.

I needed this. Thanks.

Linda Sue said...

The boat isn't empty- I am lying very quietly in the hull, rocking and bouncing and loving the weight of the air- wonderful feeling, this one!

steven said...

hi kathleen - thanks for your kind comment. go with the flow. letting yourself tumble. there's a theme building here. steven

steven said...

oa.s, i think that letting the boat find its own path and not feeling the need to direct it is a place you reach eventually. steven

steven said...

reya - it's really nice to create small spaces that reflect my state of being. steven

steven said...

linda sue - i wrestled with the idea of separating myself from the "boat" and being an observer but i see steven from a distance and i thought that's where i'd go. steven