Friday Original Post

This poem came from a poem written by Cathy Song titled The Man Moves Earth. I'm dedicating this poem to my husband, Tim.

The Man Rides Water

The man rides water
to dispel grief.
He lays on polyurthane foam
covered layers of fiberglass, cloth
and epoxy resin,
paddles his arms.
In proportion to what is taken
what is given multiplies-
rippling muscles strain
and strength in grace.
He bobs up and down
like a pelican awaiting a fish.

The woman writes words
to banish grief.
She sculpts poems,
polishes sentences made
of emotion.
In proportion to what is taken
what is given multiplies-
the task of another word to write.
Gleaming poems beg to be
crossed out, papers torn.

The man rides water,
the woman writes words.
Together they pull love out of the other,
pull with the muscular ache of living,
hauling from the deep well of the body,
circumstance swollen and patience worn,
callused hands, all that cycles
through lives moving, lives riding,
love circulates between them
like currents drawn out
by an impending thunderstorm.