River Poetry by Joy Sprague

River Poetry by Joy Sprague

It is always such a delight to receive stories and poetry inspired by our guests’ experiences on the river with us. Here we’d like to share a beautiful poem written by Joy Sprague who had a river trip with Hatch in May of 2024.

One Week Out of the Canyon

Split like a canyon down the middle

River Poetry by Joy Sprague. Photo: Joy Sprague

River runs through me like a longing

Cutting me into halves and quarters

Water and silt splinter my fingers

Dissecting my being into what was, what is,

what longs to be again

Sadness from voices no longer heard

Shadows my days and awakens my nights

Rustling of the boatmen along the shore

Brewing my morning coffee, scrambling my eggs

While frying my hash browns and bacon

I lay on my cot listening to my fellow travelers

Their breath eases in and out like the flow of a distant tide

Brilliant star shows no longer illuminate

The cerulean clear sky lighting my zippers edge

Impossibly felt until so deep in the walls

Photo: Joy Sprague

Slot canyons carved me up and spit me out

Whitewater shot me down the river

Faster than my perception could understand

I stand, stand on the shores of solid ground

And yet…I am not there but oh so much of me is,

Is not here, is somewhere in between

Longing to be in two places at one time

Desire to listen silently to others journeys

To whiff the boatman’s cigarettes

And feel the embrace of others arms

I never knew before being there

The loss is deep in the chasms of my core

Almost like the mossy green of elves chasm

It lives in me and outside me at the same time

• Joy Sprague 5/15/24