Missed Boat

There was a time
when I looked at other people’s
expansive homes,
their accomplishments,
their travels,
and I got the sense
that we had somehow
missed the boat.

We hadn’t gotten news
that the boat was going to sail
or that there even was a boat.

Meanwhile,
we just focused on steering
our beat up canoe
through seemingly endless rapids,
sometimes getting out
to carry it
through the shallows.

But now, I think-
it has been a really good life
after all.
I love it here,
close to the ground,
the water.

I have given up the fantasy
of catching up with the boat
that, in reality,
probably only existed
in my dark imagination.

Because, with maturity
and a willingness
to take a deeper look
at other people,
I can see that most of us
are just doing the best we can
to steer our own vessels,
which sometimes float gently
through clear, deep currents
and sometimes
need to be portaged
through the shallows.

By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith