Best Rower Poems
We search for the one moment of life
A prelude to joy…….
Calm sea
And rower
In an immensity of silence
Dipping steadily
………………………………………
EXPECTATIONS
I cut me out a perfect babe
Of tissue very thin
And then before a cry was heard
Released it to the wind
………………………………………..
THE OLD CHEST
Up lid!
And a hundred musty specters cry out
With memories for one only
Categories:
rower, fantasycry,
Form:
Free verse
Die Lorelei by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)- Translated by T. Wignesan
For Regina von Degenfeld at Waibstadt
-in respect and unending sufferance-
(Heine, a German Jewish lyrical and satiric poet, journalist and critic,
settled in Paris from 1831 where he married Eugénie Mirat, an unsophisticated shop-assistant which earned him ostracism and dispossession from his family and fellows, but he made her his only heir on the condition that she re-married so that at least one person would regret his passing. In 1858, he was hobbled for life by spinal paralysis.)
Ich weiss nicht , was soll es bedeuten,
Nonplussed am I, what could it signify
Dass ich so traurig bin;
Plunged as I am in such a dejected mood
Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten,
A fairy tale from times gone by,
Dass kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.
In thraldom wrapped forever to brood
Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt,
Soft the cool wind buffets as the day beds down
Und ruhig fliesst der Rhein;
And ripple free courses the Rhein
Der Gïpfel des Berges funkelt
Mountain summit lights scintillate crown
Im Abendsonnenschein.
Divine in sunset shine
Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet
Exquisite maiden perched is she
Dort oben wunderbar,
On high there resplendent
Ihr goldnes Geschmeide blitzet,
Her golden accoutrements sparkle free
Sie kämmt ihr goldnes Haar.
As golden tresses combs she concupiscente
Sie kämmt es mit goldnem Kamme,
Flaxen tresses combs she with a golden comb
Und singt ein Lied dabei;
While luring strains her lips release in lyrical glee
Das hat eine wundersame,
Tinged in a soothing tuneful hum
Gewaltige Melodie.
Mighty stirring melody
Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
The rower in his narrow boat
Ergreift es mit wildem Weh;
Seized is he with bewildering pain
Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
Oblivious is he of the Rock’s craggy grotte
Erschaut nur hinauf in die Höh’.
His eyes remain fixed high above the narrow main
Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
I believe the waves did submerge
Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn;
In the end both boatman and rowing boat
Und das hat mit ihrem Singen
And the deed did with her singing merge
Die Lorelei getan.
That Lorelei had wrought.
© T. Wignesan – Paris, January 23, 2021
Categories:
rower, angst, fear, gothic, song,
Form:
Quatrain
In the pale mist of dawn, a rower glides quietly
across a creamy, yellow lake in a golden glow.
An ethereal fog settles dreamily over the waters
as muted paddles create rippled works of art.
Written on 3/3/2016
Categories:
rower, beauty, nature,
Form:
Free verse
Pamela Relph wanted to join the army, the Royal Engineers,
Because she was funded by them for sixth form fun arrears,
But she got arthritis just when she was eighteen and keen,
And so undertook a BSc at Birmingham in physics, mean.
In 2011 she won gold at the World Rowing Championships,
With three others, her team also including Broecke, a cox,
In 3 minutes 27.10 seconds they did travel one kilometre,
To qualify for the 2012 Paralympics in London’s theatre.
She, Riches, Smith and Row pulled the boat through wave,
Along the river at Eton Dorney to win gold in their conclave,
And they retained their title at the 2013 World’s in August,
But with a new team, as medical ills did make Smith bust.
There they took gold again ahead of Italy and South Africa,
This time faster, 3 minutes and 16.12 seconds to plaster,
And then in 2014 with one new crew mate in Grace Clough,
The team successfully won gold again at the World’s bough.
So as a result of that they will compete in the 2016’s, Rio,
And Relph is an MBE as of 2013’s New Year Honours row;
Her sister Monica, who’s a GB rower in the Senior Squad,
Got her into rowing originally, where she’s now like a god!
Categories:
rower, boat, body, dream, inspiration,
Form:
Heroic Couplet
Helmand hit army captain Nick hard in October 2009,
Where he stepped on an improvised while on patrol;
He was 27 years of age, in the Royal Engineers fine,
But a medic saved his life, but not his legs to control.
His rehabilitation programme took him into Para sport,
Where he became a Trunk and Arms canoeing rower,
And at Guildford he first rowed in April 2011, of purport,
Then he joined the GB rowing team with pair power.
He did take a medal, bronze, at the world cup, Munich,
But in 2011 October at the World’s they finished sixth;
However, they redeemed things at the 2012 hot pitch,
When they came fourth in the gritty revenge of the sith.
Nick’s from Stockport and will be going to Rio, affirmation,
He’s been helped by Help for Heroes veterans program,
The Sports Recovery Program which gave him definition,
And has done hand-bike charity events to save for ’em.
Categories:
rower, boat, body, health, sports,
Form:
Quatrain
Behind
Behind every great achievement
lies a great story
behind every great story
is an extraordinary writer
behind this story it is I
the great fighter
What happens in the past
is left behind
whatever happens in the present
is forever kept
but whatever happens in the future
is still yet to come
Behind every great rower
lies great water
but behind every poet
lie great words within
Behind my great time
has great vibes
but whatever is left
behind now
it is the love between you and I
Categories:
rower, heart,
Form:
Free verse
Grace was born with Erb’s Palsy, it's a nerve condition,
Which means she struggles with her arm and shoulder,
But now she’s a rower LTA mixed cox four, Paralympian,
Coming from Sheffield, training at Caversham, boulder.
For her dissertation with the hearing University of Leeds,
She wrote about how the mass media portrays disability,
And so found out about a SportsFest which had leads,
A sports talent day which could forward her sports destiny.
The GB rowing team continually called Grace, contacted,
So she decided to give it a go ‘cos she was unemployed,
And in the Legs, Trunk and Arms category she was stated,
And has never looked back with all her happiness deployed.
With rowing mates sometimes of MBE holder Pamela Relph,
James Fox, Dan Brown, Oliver Hestor or Oliver James,
She enjoys the team challenge which gives her total health,
Also trains with Nottingham Rowing Club to make her aims.
In 2014 and 2015 at the Worlds in both Holland and France,
Grace’s team came in first position giving the primal scream;
In 2015 at the World Cup in Varese in Italy’s canal dance,
Her team returned with the gold and lived the envied dream.
And they did it again in Rio when they won again the gold,
Grace’s original coach was Dez Atkins, currently Tom Dyson,
She rises early to row in the morning waters extremely cold,
And so eats a 2nd breakfast of eggs from the chef’s kitchen.
Categories:
rower, sports, strength, water,
Form:
Quatrain
Rachel is a Great Britain Paralympic rower,
Who changed in 2013 from the sport of cycling,
Because she had a road accident, left her sore,
But she won god in cycling in 2008 in Beijing.
In 2007 at the Worlds in Bordeaux, two golds,
Then in Canada at the Road Worlds in 2010,
She cycled to gold twice. But then thresholds,
Her crash in 2012 sent her into rowing’s glen.
In Amsterdam at the World Rowing Champs
In 2014, she landed fifth place for her efforts,
Then Rachel won a silver medal with clamps,
At the 2015 Worlds in France: so Rio’s talks.
Categories:
rower, body,
Form:
Quatrain
You may rest awhile if the trek be tough,
Grab a breath when the terrain is rough;
Let the oars have some respite,
And the rower fresh viands bite.
But the going must anon continue,
For time tells motions of the brave
(According to lores heavens gave) ,
Shall all forever subdue the earth;
And man's toil shall win him mirth.
Pull your ear from naysayers' sigh
That affirms that man forever can't;
Keep the company of them that try;
Dwell in the fold of champs of hope.
Remember it's no crime to slip a cry
If bristles of fate spanner your heart;
Allow a tear if straining be too much,
But through all remember this part:
You must ever keep on keeping on!
Nothing has ever successfully stood
In the bold path of a determined man,
Who keeps walking despite the mood.
The world lacks case of one who tried,
And was the object of his zeal denied!
Give ear all that hear the spoken word,
For none like this has ever been heard -
The esoteric code that rules the world:
That you'll have to keep on keeping on!
Categories:
rower, 8th grade, allegory, allusion,
Form:
Didactic
Living in a crowd felt as a canoe rowing
In waters of either ripples or waves surging
Numerous things alter them calm or roar
Giving frights or delights to the rower
Making one tired of the uncertainties
With which struggling to decide helplessly
Both surrendering and holding mingles in mind
A situation sinks one's delights inside sand
Life at these times makes one feel arduous
Even worse than being sick or being poor
None of them bully one's peaceful soul and mind
But the unsettling relationships compel maniacal
Categories:
rower, bullying, community, conflict, engagement,
Form:
Free verse
"I'm a conundrum. Or an enigma. I forget which," ... James A. Owen
I am a trapped absolute in an abstract
I am a trapped abstract in an absolute
I am not in a trap of inescapable odds
made nowadays between yesterday and tomorrow
voices are whispering that I am asleep
talkers are echoing that I am awake
I am certainly uncertain that my time of this wake and of that sleep is therefore limited or unlimited
countenance contours fluctuate via its reflective reaction to its immediate surroundings being viewed
manifestations are identified and their proper values are applied
this way
it establishes a greater compliment of authenticity
for as such not much
truth is a lie till one wakes from their sleep of uncertainties to make certain
hello
I was to meet somebody
I'm in the next city block
across the border
you need your passport to go across the street
or you'll miss the plane
make sure you sit in the last rower of the canoe
so that the helicopter blade does not kiss you
has a date with a steward
one of those
was a cross-blade with a gang
I will see you at the end of the Kangaroo Race
in Australia
Aussie is not in Texas
I'm already in Texas
oh that is why everybody can see you
hello or goodbye
no yes maybe so
wait go
where am I
who am I
who are they
this is north
no west
I know where I am
namaste
Aloha
Categories:
rower, allusion,
Form:
Suzette Prime
"Just breathe, you're having your breath taken, 'Aweigh anchors away,' the blessed follows," ... by The Poet
The unnoticeable lulls a fancy
as obscurity stares at a lost
such are promotions
of a trance
stages all ages
a momentous chance
for lifetime promise of romance
shattering glimmering
convinces glimpses
alarm bells--"Hush little baby don't--OH NO!"
"Release the Kraken ... or mices ... an ant if you have any?"
She comes, A ROWER?
It's The Specifics of the Ocean
Those islanders will come out - rigging
and surfing, Aurora, in a pipeline ... she's a dreamer ...
OH NO! WIPEout, its ecliptic ... but there at the ocean's edge
o'er the horizon, Aurora, RISE
the shacks are empty, the fields aplenty
The Drums of the Islands, Aloha Alive.
Categories:
rower, appreciation, life, nature, song,
Form:
Lyric
mist covers still lake
oars cut silver surface
ripples announce me
Categories:
rower, beauty,
Form:
Haiku