<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ruthanne (Rufus) Collinson has worked as a journalist, photographer, bookkeeper and turkey farmer.\u00a0 Her poems have appeared in various journals for the field of experiential education.\u00a0 Two books of her poetry have been published by Folly Cove Books, Turning the Stones <\/em>(1997) and Traveling to You <\/em>(2008).\u00a0 Rufus was formerly the Manager of Communications for Project Adventure and lives in Gloucester.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Water Over Stones <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This morning<\/p>\n

the ravenous sea<\/p>\n

reaches way out<\/p>\n

over the shore<\/p>\n

and pulls back again,<\/p>\n

powerfully driven<\/p>\n

to contain itself<\/p>\n

and everything else too.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hear the haul<\/p>\n

of water<\/p>\n

over a hundred thousand stones.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

O the sound of longing,<\/p>\n

hush rock hustle<\/p>\n

huddle huddle hush,<\/p>\n

the crockery and the surge,<\/p>\n

water taking the shape<\/p>\n

of stones,<\/p>\n

this great symphonic jostling<\/p>\n

of all that comes in,<\/p>\n

of all that pulls out,<\/p>\n

of all that remains.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the Boulevard <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the first morning of my new life<\/p>\n

on the weathered promenade<\/p>\n

above the ancient harbor,<\/p>\n

I see the swan<\/p>\n

gliding in from another cove,<\/p>\n

all curves and glory, magnificently<\/p>\n

Single.<\/p>\n

And then a silver sedan<\/p>\n

pulls up from the city side,<\/p>\n

rolls in over smooth stones,<\/p>\n

and stops.<\/p>\n

In a lurch of time and motion,<\/p>\n

a woman emerges,<\/p>\n

stooped and groping<\/p>\n

calling over and over,<\/p>\n

Sheenuu…Sheenuu…Sheenuu…<\/p>\n

The swan looks in her direction<\/p>\n

and paddles madly toward the pebbled shore.<\/p>\n

The woman plods carefully in turn,<\/p>\n

her arms clasped in front of her.<\/p>\n

Sheenuu comes ashore,<\/p>\n

as awkward now as composed before,<\/p>\n

one slow ungainly step after another.<\/p>\n

The woman stumbles a little,<\/p>\n

crooning softly now,<\/p>\n

There there,<\/p>\n

reaching out the cup<\/p>\n

of her clasped, primeval hands.<\/p>\n

The swan slides her long neck<\/p>\n

into the curve of arms.<\/p>\n

And they embrace there<\/p>\n

on my first morning in this new place<\/p>\n

where anything is possible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Truth <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sitting on the stoop,<\/p>\n

third week in the city,<\/p>\n

I see a teen-aged girl<\/p>\n

and a young boy –<\/p>\n

maybe her brother,<\/p>\n

maybe her charge –<\/p>\n

pass by.<\/p>\n

In a small hollow of quiet<\/p>\n

within the bass notes and the sirens,<\/p>\n

I hear them clearly.<\/p>\n

She is talking<\/p>\n

with animation and confidence.<\/p>\n

She says,\u00a0 “It’s only because<\/p>\n

he cares about you so much.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After a small silence,<\/p>\n

the boy reaches out<\/p>\n

and touches her elbow,<\/p>\n

saying again and again,<\/p>\n

“It’s true.<\/p>\n

It’s true.<\/p>\n

It’s true.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How wonderful<\/p>\n

to be in the presence<\/p>\n

even for a moment<\/p>\n

of this young soul<\/p>\n

discovering<\/p>\n

for the first time perhaps<\/p>\n

what in this life<\/p>\n

is True.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

As you pass through <\/strong><\/p>\n

the seasons of yourself.. <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May you slip a little,<\/p>\n

drift a little,<\/p>\n

swim way out,<\/p>\n

lose yourself occasionally<\/p>\n

in the fragrance<\/p>\n

and the fire,<\/p>\n

be a little blown away,<\/p>\n

be a little certain,<\/p>\n

find the hearth that waits for you<\/p>\n

in every kind of weather.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Ruthanne (Rufus) Collinson has worked as a journalist, photographer, bookkeeper and turkey farmer.\u00a0 Her poems have appeared in various journals for the field of experiential education.\u00a0 Two books of her poetry have been published by Folly Cove Books, Turning … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-54","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n