Gondola Ride by Shaun Bowden.

22 August 2021

By Philip Kupper

The oar that steered the Oseberg ship
was, actually, a side rudder.
Indian barges of state were so oared,
as is the proa outrigger,
among the Fijian isles.

The gondolier propels his boat
by a twisting motion of his oar.

There is the spoon-shaped racing oar.

The blade of the oddly shaped
Arabian umla
appears to attempt the shape of a small wave:

So many different oars
with the same objective
for getting the job done,
which they did,
and do
get done,
just like this oar, my pen,
the craft of this poem.

(9 August 2021)