Sample Poems by Phebe Davidson

Aubade

You left the dock early today
the water gray,
light just smearing
the lake, nearly
 
but not quite here. The kayak, white
and clean, riding
low and graceful.
The long paddle
 
dipping smoothly. All elegant
gliding movement.
One bright color
your orange vest.
 

A Metaphor

Looking up from the shore I see
the long path we
gravel in spring,
decks beckoning
 
our presence, tiers of white railing
that seem to sail
as if the land
that holds them and
 
the graveled path were ship and plank,
ocean flanking
both, the steep climb
worth it this time.

Walking
 
After the first half mile the day
improves. The way
evens out, gets
smoother and lets
 
me move at an easier pace.
There is no waste
in my stride, no
reason to go
 
anywhere but where I’m going.
Water is showing
through woods. Sleek hulls.
Fat turtles. Gulls.

Flat Rock and Shine
 
Above the water Bach rides motes
of light. One boat
on the small cove
silently moves
 
to its longed-for destination,
a berth on sand.
Hawks circle high
from a dead tree.
 
From the crest of this small point
I see the joint.
Flat rock and shine.
The waterline.

Sometimes
 
Morning brings us water turned blue.
Now through and through
day will echo
and redispose
 
the color to no real purpose.
We must suppose
what meaning there
may be. Sky, where
 
it was gray, grown cerulean.
Herculean
shift of shadow.
Blue patio.