APRIL 2
Derek Webster
Photograph of My Parents
They canoe away, my mother’s paddle
raised mid-air, unwieldy, my father’s
steering beneath the surface. Evergreens
shoot up the shore, late light on their hands
and the eddies their paddles make. We’ve just
had dinner, and I’ve followed them to the water
with my rainbow-strapped camera, tripping
my way forward, trying to lead my own life.
They skirt the green darkness that pulls me.
Scant stories of their younger selves. They never
count the ways they love, or choices forgotten
in the family noise. Yet seeing their frail vessel,
I understand their medium. What began as distance
finally arrives. The quiet splash that travels.
from National Animal (Véhicule Press, 2024)
Derek Webster’s second collection of poems, National Animal, won the 2024 A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry. He received an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis and was the founding editor of Maisonneuve magazine. He is a summer and occasional year-round resident of North Hatley. derekwebsterwriter.com
All through the month of April, we’re sharing a poem a day, celebrating the vibrant voices of our local poets writing in English. This initiative is coordinated by Angela Leuck, publisher of Shoreline Press.
Join us as we explore the creativity and stories of our community, one poem at a time.