Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia

Cherry

By Richard L. Provencher

Mon, 09 Dec 2013
  • 843 reads
3 comments
 

Dockside is sprinkled

with the smell of herring-bait  

 

and lobster boats continue to belch

wood-slatted traps at

harbour’s edge,

stacked with crustaceans

wrestling for space --

 

shoreline a bedlam of activity.

 

The wind is quite frisky,

and tattoos

evening jitters against a flimsy

cabin pasted against

ocean’s rocky lip.

 

One tired fisherman hurries

into sleepy moments

captures dreaming, nets

to repair, buoys

need painting   

and a back yard cluttered

with lobster pots.

 

Certificate U
Poem
Poetry - For All Reasons
Miscellaneous

Comments

Submitted by jolono on

Great to have you back Richard and on top form as ever! The language in this is quite breathtaking. Each line brings alive a picture in my mind so vivid and clear that it makes my eyes water!

I can actually TASTE the opening lines ( I love herring), and the next line about lobster pots belching and crustaceans wrestling adds to the picture of utter bedlam on the shoreline.

I could read this all day.

 

Submitted by Richard L. Prov... on

Wow. Jolono, you overwhelm me quite nicely, thank you. Your comments are so kind. Some say be humble and I believe writers are, yet we do need such words of encouragement, eh? As I read this poem, I can see myself with my wife on the stinky wharf at Pictou Harbour, NS, BUT the smell of fish and other creatures is exhilirating, since I really enjoy seafood. We fished for mackerel off the side, didn't get any, since I was busy scribbling notes for this poem, and years later it came out the way I wished. Isn't it interesting how some poems, or stories roll off the mind-heart and fingers, while others have to sit for a while with deft strokes placed every once in a while, then finally -- voila.

Richard L. Provencher

Submitted by Luke Neima on

I'm with Jo. It's a fantastic, transporting piece, Rich. Makes me long for a maritime existence, then gives me one. Reading it's like being dockside.