I Love to Ride upon the Waters
I love to ride upon the waters of
The sea, to feel the rocking of the waves
Beneath me as the ship moves through their crests.
I love to see the sunlight spread upon
The rocks along the shore, as dun turns white
And tan turns yellow, burnt sienna comes
To life in chocolate and gold. I love
To see the clouds turn blue to gray and then
To pink in columns high. I love the sea!
I love to see the houses perched upon
The shore, like boxes set on rocks with pins,
Or nestled in the woods behind, or thrust
Out on a ledge, as if to say, “It’s mine!”
I love to see the warm lights shining from
Within, as Maine folk gather with their friends,
Or folks like me from Somewhere Else spend two
Short treasured weeks among the pines or on
The deck above the rocks. But there is more!
I love to shop at Reilly’s store for food
And drag home Poland Spring to drink---so clear
Of any taste but spring---to buy a pie,
A cherry pie, a bumbleberry pie!
(It only lasts two days because it’s small.)
I love to go to Brambles Garden Shop,
To Sheepscot Pottery, to Weatherbird---
To look around and find a gift for friends
That only costs ten dollars, just for them.
I love to sit and read, while looking down
Johns Bay, in my big chair at Pemaquid,
Or write a novel or some cantos on
My new computer friend. I love to watch
The stars at night that I can never see
In Somewhere Else, or listen for the loon.
I love to feel the soft warm light from lamps
Whose shades are brown or tan at “On the Rocks,”
The house that Dennis built at Pemaquid.
I love to sit upon the deck and watch
The tide flow past, or paint the isles that lie
Across the bay, or listen to the waves
Against the rocks, or sit and think. Each day
I walk around the loop and fantasize
That I will own a house someday in Maine
In Pemaquid just like the one I rent
Above the waters of Johns Bay, and no
One near---my house in Maine upon the sea.
Pemaquid - July 11, 1998 / January 2000
© 2013 - Langston Snodgrass - May 19