Songs of Eretz Poetry Review is pleased to present “The Boatman” by Christopher
Hivner. Mr. Hivner’s work has
appeared previously in the Review
where a brief biography may be found:
http://eretzsongs.blogspot.com/2014/12/poem-of-day-i-wrote-this-one-for-no.html.
The Boatman
Christopher Hivner
Inspired by
Houses of Parliament, Sunset 1903, by Claude Monet
The boatman skimmed
the water
broken shafts of
sunlight
buoying his craft
as he traced the
shadows.
The buildings
loomed
stealing the dying
light
to hold for
tomorrow,
their reflections
river monsters in
repose.
The lapping of the
water
against the hull
carried the captain
to home,
calm reassurance
he was where he
was supposed to be.
With a wink
to the ministers on
shore
he prayed
they did their job
as well as
he did his.
Sun setting,
another day ending,
the boatman skimmed
the water
reaching for the
horizon
on the other side
of the shadows.
Poet’s Notes: I’ve always loved the silhouette of
Parliament among the swirl of color in Monet’s Houses of Parliament, Sunset (one of the series is pictured). But
the longer I stared at the painting I couldn’t help but wonder about the man in
the boat. Who was he? Why was he on the water? The boat is small so it seemed
like a fisherman’s boat or at least one belonging to a workingman of some kind.
With the sun going down I saw him trying to get home to his family, passing by
the impressive buildings with equal amounts of wonder and disdain.
Editor’s Note: This is a good ekphrastic poem. I
am willing to wager that most observers of the paintings do not give much
thought to the boatman, so it is interesting that Mr. Hivner chose to tell a
story from the boatman's perspective.
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