7 December 2025

By Philip Kuepper

The rowers in their shells
I saw as rows of candles.
They flamed! past, on the water.
How like an altar, the river,
and the sun, an acolyte,
lighting the wick of each rower.
Watching them, I saw myself
at prayer.
I sensed a reverence in the air
as the oars swept the water.
The rowers were like
a hymn being sung,
a hymn of flames
of a silent song along the water.
They appeared a profound
coming together of the elements:
water, fire, air, and the very
earth of the rowers’ bodies
making all of it happen.
I stood watching,
suspended in praise.

(26 November 2025)