“John, R.” by Nathanael Jones
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “John, R.” by Nathanael Jones.
John, R.
By Nathanael Jones
He had to tread water, she said of her father.
Even in shallow seas the limits of vision fail us. Thrown overboard in slack wind or tempest, looking out
over the waters: this is how we knew the earth was curved before Magellan, Elcano.
From a seated position, start to kick as if performing the breaststroke.
And as you can see here in the ship logs, the dates are in accordance. The Canary Islands, Cabo Verde—
primarily Portuguese and Spanish holdings. Far from any continent, the curve of the earth’s surface is
caught between a straight line.
Slavers threw the dead and dying overboard.
My father, he fell.
Copyright © Nathanael Jones
Previously published in Aqueous (The Porcupine’s Quill, 2024).
Nathanael Jones is a Canadian writer and artist currently based in Montreal. He holds degrees from NSCAD University (BFA 2014) and SAIC (MFA 2017). His debut poetry collection, Aqueous, is out now through The Porcupine’s Quill (2024).
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