14 May 2023

By Philip Kuepper

Harvard, Oxford,
Yale, Cambridge,
storied names that when spoken
make rhythmic
mantra, alliterative;
Charles, Isis,
Connecticut, Cam,
slipstreams
meant to be oared
of the ore
of their liquid,
meant to be mined
of the silver of their rivers;
earthen flows, rowers
plant with their blades,
and harvest with their strokes.
Rowers cull from the depths
that which sustains.

(3 May 2023)