Welcome to Poetic Licence – a weekly poetry forum, hosted by us, featuring words by local poets. This week? A pair of “freeform” sonnets by Henk Suys.
Sonnet of the Long Distance Swimmer
Thick and green as glass, the water at the
bay's edge shimmers like a golden carpet,
sunlit on the surface of the sea.
My fingers drip with treasure as my hands
come up for air. "Pretend your elbow is
suspended from a string, just let it swing."
The swim instructor's words recalled. Each stroke
in rhythm with this pendulum. Each breath,
for all us mammals of the sea, sucked up
inside a hollow wave, as water streams
below my lips. So close, this salty fluid
and my blood, I could dissolve inside
this shining net and never notice that
my breathing's stopped, and shore floats far away.
English Bay, June 9, 1991
Fraser River Sonnet
I've lived beside the ocean all my life,
have hands that stroke the water like a fin
and blood that senses when the tide is full.
The ocean vast and awesome often echoes
tribulations of my soul in anxious
storm. Or, like a lover spent, reflects
my momentary peace with placid calm.
But now I've seen a river madly roiling,
full of need and reckless in its heart.
I've felt the trembling of the canyon cliffs
and heard the constant voice of water rushing
like a song, and know my passion is
the call of river seeking ocean, streaming
onward more relentless than the tide.
Emory Creek, June 16, 1991
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