26 April 2026

By Philip Kuepper

Happily, flat water
met the crews
without the complications
of the just past week’s weather.
Those wanting to row
had grown disspirited.
Waves, like baby tsunamis,
had made the river hazardous,
a river best avoided.
But this morning the water lay
quiet, calm. The water smiled
on the rowers. And it took them
next to no time to lay
their shells upon the water,
and lay into their oars.
Here lay freedom from
the tempestuous, the tantrums
of the childish, self-possessed
squalling of the weather.
Here lay maturity. Here lay
that understanding between
man and the elements
that make the feeling
of love possible.

(18 April 2026)