End of a Summer Day
July 13, 2016 |
| Photo courtesy Maurice Muller |
Introduction by Ted Kooser: We hope that you will
visit, from time to time, our archived columns at www.americanlifeinpoetry.org,
where you may find other poems by the poets we feature. Today's is the third
we've published by Sharon Chmielarz. a Minnesota poet with several fine books
in print, including The Widow's House, just released by Brighthorse
books.
Fisher’s Club
A roadside inn. Lakeside dive. Spiffed up.
End of a summer day. And I suppose
I should be smiling beneficently
at the families playing near the shore,
their plastic balls and splashes and chatter.
But my eye pivots left to a couple;
he is carrying her into the water.
He's strong enough, and she is light
enough to be carried. I see
how she holds her own, hugging
his neck, his chest steady as his arms.
I have never seen such a careful dunk,
half-dunk, as he gives her. That beautiful
play he makes lifting her from the water.
And I suppose I should be admiring
the sunset, all purple and orange and rose now.
Nice porch here, too. Yeah, great view.
But I have never seen such a loving
carrying as he gives her. Imagine
being so light as to float
above water in love.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry
Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also
supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Poem copyright ©2015 by Sharon Chmielarz, “Fisher's Club,” from The Widow's
House (Brighthorse Books, 2015). Poem reprinted by permission of Sharon
Chmielarz and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2016 by The Poetry
Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet
Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do
not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
4 comments
I just finished writing some thoughts for my next blog post, about how most often it is the people in a scene that attract me when I am sketching...(post to come in a few days or so...) Lovely poem, celebrating Love...
ReplyDeleteRita--I loved this poem and could really picture the people she was describing. I look forward to reading your post, too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful poem. It reminds me of photos I took of my son and daughter-in-law right after their beach wedding. He carried her into the water too.
ReplyDeleteCheryl--What a wonderful memory. Hope you are having a great summer, and creating lots of beautiful quilts and art work.
ReplyDelete