Clouds clutched the Slocan Valley like men
Afraid of drowning clutch a bobbing spar.
Don't try to rescue them, someone said,
Aware that three years ago here, or wherever
Then most resembled this here, three men
Drowned in waters like these heaving waves
That were pounding the shore today, three
Very young men and the one young woman
They tried to heave back into the overturned
Canoe. The memorial to all four could be
Seen by body slapped sidewise by waves
Just a few quick strokes away from shore.
Within three minutes, at most four, fingers
Start to numb and the cold flickers through
The nerves with a sensation like sparks,
Like lightning, like an electrical experiment
Gone terribly wrong, and body convulses,
Convinced that self can't understand
The need to get out, which self does
Understand, wanting however another out
Requiring more cold, more depth, not land.
No comments:
Post a Comment