So Far Within Reach – a Poem
by Jeffrey Bates
…a small boat sat on the rocks on the beach
as he approached it felt just out of his reach
the oars they lay inside half disclosed
the old man in his chair dreamed a dream as he dozed.
The stream from the mountain descended to the shore
Where the boat had been dreaming of the man it knew before
He approached and he saw the world without care,
As he breathed in the sun, felt the crisp morning air.
The old man, he shifted a bit in his chair
He’d thought that he saw someone standing there
“Get in!” he sighed, as he passed on the edge,
“The boat is ready and the shore’s no hedge.”
He squirmed once more in his chair on the porch
The young man, he felt no flame, but a torch.
As he pushed the small boat from the rocks on the beach
What was once so far was now within reach.
February 9, 2014
Jeffrey Bates, the author and illustrator of The Little Bucket, earned his B.A. from Anderson College (University), in Anderson, Indiana in Religion and Sociology (1985) and Master of Divinity degree from Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana (1990). He has worked with children and youth for most of his career while serving churches, both full and part time and as a volunteer, from 1986-1996 and 2011-2014. He completed the New Warrior Training Adventure in 1996.
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