I recently posted a delightful comment, from an email that I had received, about a piece in my book “Just Thinking” which had been selected as a classroom discussion piece. For anybody interested, and particularly for my recent poetic new Followers, the piece in question (“Adrift”) is below. Enjoy.
ADRIFT
They stepped into the boat.
He took the oars…
And rowed them away from the dock.
A few minutes later,
He put them down…
And the boat just drifted.
***
“A wonderful time to talk”,
At least that was his thought.
With the sound of the water,
And the rhythm of the boat,
Surely this must be the time?
But then his mind just drifted.
***
He thought about past times.
She looked preoccupied
But he had no idea why.
He asked her if she felt okay.
She turned away, with a sigh,
And his voice just drifted.
***
He quickly changed the subject,
Not understanding her response.
He wanted, after all, to make amends.
He tried to talk about their families.
He tried to talk about their friends,
But… her mind just drifted.
***
She remembered years ago.
He was quite different then.
Considerate and always there for her.
He was her lover, husband and friend.
Now she thinks – does he really care?
And her eyes just drifted.
***
She watched some birds
But… really did not see.
She was looking across the river
To avoid eye contact with him.
What would her future be?
And the question just drifted.
***
She knew what to say
But… not how to say it.
She knew what she wanted in time.
He was no longer the man
She wanted holding her hand.
And her thoughts just drifted.
***
He watched in despair and thought,
“I can’t take all the blame.
It takes two to forget and to forgive.
I can’t do this on my own
But then, I need my life to live.”
And his emotions just drifted.
***
He wanted what he had before.
The girl he married; the girl he adored;
But life just seemed to intervene
And take them different ways.
Nothing now was how it had been,
And his memories just drifted.
***
He picked up the oars
Rowed back to the dock,
And helped her out of the boat.
She turned around and thanked him,
But remembered the letter he wrote,
And her mind just drifted.
***
She remembered his words
To that other woman.
She remembered the pain inside.
She remembered the feelings,
Of rejection and betrayal,
And how their relationship drifted.
***
He watched her sadly walk away
Then… getting off the boat,
He pushed it out into the river.
It started to move very slowly.
He turned, but there was nothing to say,
And the boat just drifted.
***
They both watched it move
Carried away by the current.
A boat also with nothing to say.
They looked at each other,
Empty and lost,
And the boat just drifted away.
If the above was thought provoking, or held your interest for other reasons, then note that “Just Thinking” is a book of full of such life verses. It would make a great coffee table book that could be picked up at a moments notice, and put down again when circumstances dictate. “Just Thinking” is available from all the usual on-line book stores and is available in paperback, hard cover, and eBook formats. Finally, it is a “not for profit” venture. Any questions? Please feel free to ask here.
What a moving piece, Colin. For me, the imagery of water and boats has always gone deep and work as great metaphors – you have done a class job weaving them in. Letting go is so important – we manage to move on, but letting go is another story altogether.
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Hey Prajakta …….. nice to hear from you. I assume our hot/humid Summer reminded you of home … but are you ready for our Fall and Winter again? As for water …. did you ever see this Post (below)? 🙂
https://meandray.com/2017/09/05/the-river/
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This poem always moved me, its so sad but yet so good. You can feel the emotions of the couple. The acceptance of a finality that a chapter has come to an end. Not all chapters have happy endings but there are always more chapters to come in this journey of life.
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Agreed. Sometimes we just need the courage to turn the page and move on. 🙂
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At times courage can be hard to find but then friends come by to give us a nudge.
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