7 October 2018

By Philip Kuepper

The rowers setting out
slipped into the autumnal scene,
and were lost to the blaze
of colors reflected by the river,
oak, birch, maple, walnut,
each one Joseph-coated,
stripes of crimson intertwined with gold,
and coppery apricot giving
depths of warmth.  The rowers
made pleats of so glorious
a coat, as they oared past
each tree.  A breeze blew
to and fro(Joseph moving in time
to a shepherd’s flute)?
The whistle, on the bridge, blew,
warning it was about to open,
just as the rowers slipped beneath,
swallowed in shadow.  They shot
out the other side into a shock
of light!, the patterns of each “coat”
spread across the water,
like a carpet from the Orient,
into which design the rowers disappeared.

(24 September 2018)