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)