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Thompson's Water Seal

1/4/2015

2 Comments

 
In the rough edges of the wood,
its grains and its knots,
underneath the tides of sandpaper,
washed up old weather stains--
like tigers’ eyes and sharks’ fins.

Splinter by splinter, I shaved 
away the old coat--
the adolescent grime
and mildewed spring,
preparing for a summer’s voyage
underneath the golden glare
of a bright, maddening
medallion, consumed by the 
haze of grill smoke and pollen.
While in the yard, some child--
perhaps they called him
Ishmael—pointed 
to a swell of white cloud
swimming in the blue
and pronounced it a whale.

My foot wedged itself in a 
bucket of plastic,
knocked against the hard
wooden surface riding
nothing but grass blades
and dirt, sounding like bone
limping on a gangplank,

and as I fell
I called out a name--
perhaps
it was Ishmael--
but he was wearing
the wind like a sieve,
as far from me

as a crow’s nest

or the burning of the sea.

2 Comments
Bridget
1/22/2015 09:33:19 am

This is a beautiful poem! I love the imagery of the ship's deck. The nods to Moby Dick and Ishmael are effective.

Reply
Wes S.
2/5/2017 08:52:42 pm

Clear imagery. The first time I read it, I thought the fall was tragic. The second time I read it, I laughed out loud. The third time, my thoughts went into the realm of questions. This is a good thing. The structure allows the final image to dance in one's imagination for a while. Well done.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Bryan Harvey

    Bryan Harvey's poetry has appeared in The Cold Mountain Review and The Piedmont Journal of Poetry & Fiction. His essays have been featured at The Classical, Pitchers & Poets, and The Faster Times. He is a a frequent guest of ESPN TrueHoop's The Baller Ball. In his spare time, which is most of the time, he teaches high school English and takes graduate courses at George Mason University. He enjoys snow days and the honking noises geese make. 







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  • Fall
    • Tayler Karinen
    • Benjamin Lindsey
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    • Rich Ives
    • Kelly Kotewa
    • Craig Rodgers
    • Laura Fletcher
    • Jen McConnell
    • Remi Skytterstad
  • Past Issues
    • YEAR ONE >
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        • Dalton Day
        • Camila Maldonado
        • Elizabeth Burton
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