The draft for this poem was written about 7 years ago at the Collegeville Institute after author Sharon Chmielarz visited the Fisher’s Club restaurant with her summer poetry workshop. It was later published in her award winning poetry collection The Widow’s House (Brighthorse Books, 2015). Sharon writes: “If I hadn’t have attended the workshop, I’d never have known about the club and thus, never written the poem.”
A roadside inn. Lakeside dive. Spiffed up.
End of a summer day. And I suppose
I should be smiling beneficently
at the families playing near the shore,
their plastic balls and splashes and chatter.
But my eye pivots left to a couple;
he is carrying her into the water.
He’s strong enough, and she is light
enough to be carried. I see
how she holds her own, hugging
his neck, his chest steady as his arms.
I have never seen such a careful dunk,
half-dunk, as he gives her. That beautiful
play he makes lifting her from the water.
And I suppose I should be admiring
the sunset, all purple and orange and rose now.
Nice porch here, too. Yeah, great view.
But I have never seen such a loving
carrying as he gives her. Imagine
being so light as to float
above water in love.
Poem copyright ©2015 by Sharon Chmielarz from The Widow’s House (Brighthorse Books, 2015). Reprinted with permission from author and publisher.
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