Logansport, Indiana
For Elisabeth Van Wagenen Bailey, 1919-1995
So you have taken your slender boat
Down the river, not to come back
Except in our memory, or in gestures
Of your children, or a phrase
Or a tone of voice we know,
Or a laugh, or a sometime wince,
Or a tell-tale sign of fortitude.
The Eel River flows into the Wabash
The Wabash into the Ohio
The Ohio into the Mississippi
The Mississippi into the Gulf
Of Mexico where waters flow
East, West, South, and out
All over the world in their time.
I dream that your oar and the waters’ time
Are taking you Sough and then East around
The Florida Keys and up along
The North Atlantic Ocean’s coast
Past Miami, Savannah, Cape Hatteras,
Atlantic City, along Long Island,
Then East a while and then Northeast
Away from Buzzard’s Bay and into
Vineyard Sound and Vineyard Haven
Where all becomes familiar.
You might not want to leave that place.
Lois Langland
August 8-9, 1995