Friday, March 28, 2014

Lessons from a Green Canoe

Glossy green, teak trimmed
Suspended, out of reach
Taunting me
With river journey dreams
In a yard sale, sold
Too young to
Voice objection
Old Town
Maybe if they'd
Let me paddle you
I'd have learned 
To go with the flow
Navi-
gate
Hard-
ships 
Steer clear
Of relation-
ship rocks
Eddies, Rons, and Marks
Would have been left
Treading water
Not treading 
On my heart
If Dad had let me sit
On your sturdy wooden seats
Grip a paddle 
Tip side to side
Find my balance
And glide
Maybe I'd have learned
To better not bitter chart
My course
So long ago
I'll never know
Now I have to let it go

Offered for the prompt to let go, from Laurie at Poetry Jam, poetryjaam.blogspot.com.  Before kids, my parents canoed a lot in a beautiful green "Old Town" canoe.  I was always fascinated by it hanging in the garage. And then it was sold when I was about 9 years old.
About 10 years ago we spent several spring breaks canoeing with friends. I always wished that my parents had kept their canoe, so that we could have used it.  Funny how these things stick with you...time to let it go :-)


35 comments:

  1. So true... we hold on to childhood, don't we? Good, bad and in-between.

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    1. Hi Laurie! That is very true and a lot of it gets rosier with time :-)

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  2. nice...i went on a canoe trip when i was a teen that changed my life in many ways...and taught me so much.....def its finding balance in that canoe, knowing when to paddle, when to conserve energy...and when to let go and just go with the flow....smiles.

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    1. Hi Brian! That's wonderful. Amazing how there are some adventures in life that really make an impact. :-)

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  3. Oh those "what ifs" right? You are right, it is best to let them go. I am still learning to balance!

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    1. Hi Jennifer! I think balance is an ever changing target. Just when I'm almost there something shifts....have to let go and start again:-)

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  4. Hard to get the right mix in life....no one has a smooth ride. I like the metaphor of the canoe...learning to manoeuvre and balance .

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    1. Hi Rallentanda! Wise words, the mix keeps changing too, thank you for the compliment :-) it was fun to write

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  5. I enjoyed this glimpse into your childhood regrets and how you use this big canoe as a metaphor for much bigger things in life, Sara!

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    1. Hi Gabriella! I'm really glad you enjoyed this. It surprised me that this canoe came up when I thought of regrets. And then, I boatload of them flowed from there...;-)

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  6. hard to let go the childhood sighs...

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    1. Hi Sumana! Some things more than others, definitely

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  7. love your piece! it is hard to let go of something from your childhood that stirred so many dreams of the future and kept the joyous times of the past alive. really enjoyed your write! also love the painting you are using for your backdrop!

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    1. Hi Hope! Thank you for your wonderful comments and compliments. The backdrop is a painting I did. :-)

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  8. We all canoe in Canada.....nicely done

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    1. Hi Wayne, it's a wonderful way to travel. Thank you

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  9. Wistful and introspective. A lovely cadence in the paddle strokes of your words.

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    1. Hi Wendy! Love your poetic compliment:-) Thank you!

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  10. Beautifully written! I think we all have something like that which we wish was still around... but have to let go.

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    1. Hi Rachel! Thank you:-) and yes, there's always things that we have to let go, and it's usually for the best

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  11. Oh, those lessons from childhood stay with us, don't they??

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  12. This resonates with me because certain childhood things are so hard to let go off. Glad you got to spend spring breaks canoeing with friends...sorry about the green canoe .

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    1. Hi Ayala! Certain things, yes. It means a lot to me that this resonated with you. Thank you :-)

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  13. Replies
    1. Hi Mad! Always great to see you. Thank you:-)

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  14. Beautiful poem about regrets and the way we must gather up strength to let them go... Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi Nicholas! Thank you for the lovely compliment. :-)

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  15. excellent words and images, especially the treading water and gripping the paddle, they are quite powerful.

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    1. Hi Alan! Thank you, gripping was a deliberate choice after playng with different verbs, treading was more serendipitous. Appreciate your attention to detail:-)

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  16. Love this, especially that
    "Navi-
    gate
    Hard-
    ships"

    Perfect.

    We kayak in Tahoe every year. I'm addicted. I would rarely be on dry land if I had a body of water and a small, motorless vessel of some kind. ;)

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    1. Hi De! When I was writing those words, I could almost hear you saying, "break it there" :-) I love kayaking too! The sound of water swishing and dripping. The music and solitude is wonderful.

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  17. i love what canoeing can teach us about balance... sad that it was sold but hey... time to get your own...smiles

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    1. Hi Claudia! You made me laugh. The obvious solution right? :-) Actually I've gotten into kayaking since then and that's going to be my next purchase ;-)

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Your words are wonderful! Thanks for popping in--I'll be over in a snap!