Untethered
From the waves, I watched
a little child on the shore
walk up to a fishing boat
tied to a rock in the shallows
of this cove – and untie it.
The boat drifted out,
away from the shore,
traveling farther and farther out to sea
– without a soul inside of it –
toward an unknown horizon.
It was my child who did this.
It was my boat.
a little child on the shore
walk up to a fishing boat
tied to a rock in the shallows
of this cove – and untie it.
The boat drifted out,
away from the shore,
traveling farther and farther out to sea
– without a soul inside of it –
toward an unknown horizon.
It was my child who did this.
It was my boat.
Jane Beal, PhD, is a poet. Born, raised, and educated in California, she is the creator of many poetry collections, including Sanctuary
(Finishing Line Press, 2008) and Rising (Wipf and Stock, 2015), as well as three recording projects that combine poetry and music: Songs from the Secret Life, Love-Song, and with her brother, saxophonist and composer Andrew Beal, The Jazz Bird. She also writes fiction, creative non-fiction, and literary criticism. She has served as a professor at Wheaton College and Colorado Christian University, teaching creative writing and literature, and as a midwife in the U.S., Uganda, and the Philippine Islands. She currently teaches at the University of California, Davis.
(Finishing Line Press, 2008) and Rising (Wipf and Stock, 2015), as well as three recording projects that combine poetry and music: Songs from the Secret Life, Love-Song, and with her brother, saxophonist and composer Andrew Beal, The Jazz Bird. She also writes fiction, creative non-fiction, and literary criticism. She has served as a professor at Wheaton College and Colorado Christian University, teaching creative writing and literature, and as a midwife in the U.S., Uganda, and the Philippine Islands. She currently teaches at the University of California, Davis.