reflections in water -
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( For Jane Yolen, the haunting inspiration )
early morning …
as day blinked its eyes
I rowed the rickety little dory out -
smooth rivulets behind me in the mirror surface
slowly expired as I stopped in the middle
wrapping the misty silence around me
straining to remember the town
as it had been …
yes -
it would be about here -
the cemetery -
they moved all the graves they
could before the deluge
but many remained
for age or obscurity's sake …
it was there SHE first kissed me -
we went daily for the quietus and privacy
to do our homework after school
(and split the atom, of course)
there, friendship became ... more
like crocuses rushing to spring
we bloomed under the brooding arms
of a grumpy old elm
branches twisted
as if to keep our callow sins a secret …
so precious, those moments -
so ... distant …
thus …
a flood and three lifetimes later
it all decayed in the merciless murk -
an entire town given to the abyss
for the thirst of a metropolis
many miles away …
not a thought given to the sacrifice -
our dear town's tragedy
no laurel ever laid
upon these somber depths …
the feelings I pondered there in stillness
had no precedent -
half my life and countless memories
swimming far below in unforgiving darkness -
homes, streets, schools, churches
gardens of stone ...
drowned for progress and population …
and now,
I committed a like crime …
fishing my wallet from a corduroy pocket
I removed HER photo from its honored sheath
(where it had slept for years)
placed it ever-so-tenderly on the reservoir's surface
and watched it slowly lilt to the inky depths
with my youth ...
and her memory.
~ 3rd Place ~ in the "Strand Choice 10 Any Form Any Theme" Poetry Contest, Brian Strand, Judge & Sponsor.
~ 4th Place ~ in the "Free Verse Style Only" Poetry Contest, Emile Pinet, Judge & Sponsor.
Copyright © Gregory Richard Barden | Year Posted 2019
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