Them Rapids
Don’t matter if I was gettin up
From my hundredth fall on
My two wheeler, strugglin to
Keep up in math or headed
Toward my tenth job interview,
Mama’d say, ‘Put them oars in the water an start paddlin.’
Made no difference at all if
I was battlin to carry a baby to
Term or tryin to find the words to
Tell a 4 year old what divorce really is,
Mama’d say, ‘Put them oars in the water an start paddlin.’
Today is different.
Today my mama went over the falls.
Left me spinnin out here in the whitewater.
I’ve put them oars in Mama, an I’m paddlin,
But ain’t too sure I’m gonna make it to shore.
7 thoughts on "Them Rapids"
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Wow! Really poignant and sensitive.
Great memoir poem!
Great voice and narrative here!
Powerful voice!
Well done!
Love the voice in this poem. It’s authentic, baleful, struggling. The metaphor of “oars in the water, paddlin” works perfectly with the narrative. Excellent!
Yes you are. She saw to it before she went, I’m sure.