Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Photograph of My Parents” by Derek Webster.

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Photograph of My Parents

By Derek Webster

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.

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Copyright © Roukia Ali

“Roukia Ali (she/her) is an award-winning, multi-published Canadian-Comorian writer. A high distinction graduate of the University of Toronto’s English and Creative Writing programs and a current Creative Writing MFA candidate at the University of Guelph, her work has been recognized both here and abroad by publications such as Young Voices Magazine, DreamWorldGirl Zine, Vellichor Literary, Aster Lit, Sontag Magazine, and many more. Roukia’s favourite Lorde album is “”Melodrama.”” Interact with her on Instagram @roukiaa9140.

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