Boat Maintenance
Boat Maintenance by debgrant
There is a boat docked on the canal.
I watch in wonder from the safety of my window
months, now years, the boat remains tied
tightly enough to the finger dock to resist
the coastal wind…though a hurricane could do it in.
loosely enough to rise and rest with the kinder tides.
Two men - one older, one younger come once a month.
They pull back the canvas cover, but never remove it.
They whip white rags that wipe and polish.
They run the inboard motor, churning the brown-green water
going nowhere. The chore completed they leave never boating.
I would end this story with my snarky remark
what’s the point beyond keeping it sell-able?
But the story’s not complete without my telling
how tenderly the young man walks the slender dock
with the old man behind him.
The old man’s hands cling to the young shoulders
and the young man walks the old man’s pace.
They leave their chore the same way they came.
Hand on shoulders, careful steps.
Perhaps the point is maintenance.
Perhaps not just the boat.
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