Orange Grove Haul-Over 1847, by Elizabeth Buttimer

Posted on September 11, 2019

Orange Grove Haul-Over 1847

By Elizabeth Buttimer

Hidden from view

in the bend of the water,

the most distant spot

on my journey so far,

at the haul-over point.

I didn’t see the impasse

until right upon it.

In search of new waters,

I lift my boat carrying it

across dry land

pulling and pushing

poorly suited for the task.

Not ready to stop paddling,

to stop gliding across

light dappled waters

with fern forested banks

to an unfamiliar tributary.

No maps for this deeply

wooded stretch of water,

I never knew it ended

here, on the edge of a

sour orange grove

with only the option

to carry my boat

and walk across

untraveled land

to new water,

paddling again,

in a new place,

navigable passage

on unknown waters.

The Halcyone Literary Review

Volume 2 * Fall/Winter 2018

Elizabeth Buttimer is inspired by the exotic in the everyday moments of our lives, the sense of camaraderie that lives in small towns, family tales, Southern history and cultural heritage. Buttimer has been published in Blue Mountain Review, Magnolia Quarterly, and Reach of Song anthology. This year she won the Natasha Tretheway Award from the Atlanta Writers’ Club and previously placed second in the national poetry contest Let’s Write.