Poems

The Paper Boat

2nd place Winner, Illinois State Poetry

by: Bakul Banerjee

The paper boat floated down the stream.
Why do I remember its crimson sail?
Or was it the setting sun that colored it?
You wrapped your palm around mine.

As I dug into the mud, my feet wobbled.
The paper boat floated down the stream.
Your right arm was by me. I leaned
to you on an impulse to steady myself.

Distant thunder and lightning neared
with pelting rain. The stream swelled.
The paper boat floated down the stream
faster. The wet white sail crumpled.

I willed myself into an implausible reverie.
The boat and I became one. How did I know
that it would be a vanishing memory?
The paper boat floated down the stream.