Photograph taken by Cary Stemle across the river from Louisville, KY.
In response to the invitation from Anne-Marie Oomen and me to write a love letter to water, I received this poem from grade school friend, Eric Stemle. As I study the writing of poetry with master poets such as Billy Collins, Jack Ridl and David Whyte and ways to infuse humor into one’s art with David Sedaris, Eric’s poem is a lesson in both. It is a reminder. Inspiration can come from anyone, anywhere, anything. The important thing is to extend the invitation and then allow space for the conversation.
Extend the invitation. And be open to what unfolds. Or what does not.
Of course, I am speaking about more than water.
The Boatman’s Dance
by Eric Stemle
I was born not far from your banks,
And while I’ve never touched your waters,
I have marveled at your regal passage
From your bridges:
The K and I
The Sherman Minton
The George Rogers Clark.
You are a border
And a flowing road;
You brought my ancestors to my birthplace,
Carried Dickens and LaSalle,
Countless peoples of the Mississippian culture,
And my grandfather as he played riverboat piano.
I do have a question, though.
If you are born in Pennsylvania,
And you release your body in Illinois,
Why do we call you Ohio?
Photograph taken by Cary Stemle across the river from Louisville, KY.
Eric is a former Wyoming Teacher of the Year and author of I Was Not the Blossom: Growing with Your Students in a Nurturing Classroom, © 2020.
0 Comments