the distance

art by E.J. Hughes

Logs, Ladysmith Harbour (1949). Oil, 30 × 40 in.

E.J. Hughes (1913-2007) was a Canadian painter well known for his landscapes of the coast of British Columbia.

the distance: I know

that the river is mighty
   mightier still beneath still air 
      that the booms rise
and fall   				
            barely perceptible
that you inhabit the youthful snap 
of your limbs—        
       take the dare down the lengths
from here to the shimmer out there

that the lacquer-slick logs 
      glint like amber in the sun
          a corrugated interlude     
              on their journey 
   from slash to plumb      
                 fell to finish 
      yet undone
                                 		
that with each nimble step 
   you know the give 
      the spring    
the intimate grip 
   of toes to rubber     
rubber to wood     
      in your bid for perpetual     
      balance and motion 
         to dance always 
above the imminent— 
the pull the muddy rip
   tide of life

and what happens next
that you spin and slip 
    down and between 
the instant gap 
    a cedar tomb slamming shut
and after an eternity 
    of no light
       again scrapes open
that the murk never 
rushed your gullet
   never filled your lungs    
the shimmering white light 
                     your eyes 
    for I exist 
       am here    
and you are there     
         in the distance still
my father