It's just poetry, it won't bite

Delaware River Ode


08.04.11 Posted in words to linger on by

Mike Maher is the founder and editor of Sea Giraffe, an online literary zine. he currently reads, writes, edits, and walks his dog in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. His poetry, fiction, and personal essays can be seen in publications like The Smoking PoetThe Ofi Press MagazineCalliope, and Dr. Hurley’s Snake-Oil Cure. While earning his BA in English from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, he served as the vice president and forum editor of The Stroud Courier, winning the Jim Barniak Award for journalism twice during his time there. He also won the Martha E Martin Award for poetry while at ESU. 

Delaware River Ode
By Mike Maher

The Delaware River is angry again,
a kid Poseidon who breaks into the houses
that stand too close
and crashes on the couches in their basements.
Some are on stilts,
deciding long ago they would try and prepare for this day,
rather than standing at a respectable distance.
You know kid Poseidon is pissed off
when he turns brown and stands tall,
won’t listen to anyone,
starts running faster.
Spring is not always a beautiful rebirth,
a joyous Spring Has Sprung! celebration of lilacs and goldfinches.
The transition is often one of cold and frozen to cold and wet,
from unbearable to unpleasant,
until one day it is too warm to comfortably wear your jacket
and your sinuses hug you tightly and say that yes, yes, Spring has arrived.

On this particular day,
after two consecutive days of unrelenting, unwavering rain,
the Delaware River has grown to much bigger than kid size, 
and there are few who live near the river who will sing songs of Spring
or join me in singing this ode.



2 Responses to “Delaware River Ode”

  1. We live on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay. This poem speaks to me of danger and the fear of the next storm. Impressive journey.

  2. bobbie troy says:

    Lovely poem, Mike. My husband and I lived in the Poconos in the early 1980s and owned a uniform store in Stroudsburg!

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