{"id":1063,"date":"2011-10-10T23:52:00","date_gmt":"2011-10-10T23:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/?p=1063"},"modified":"2017-07-11T05:57:23","modified_gmt":"2017-07-11T05:57:23","slug":"the-preserver-by-dawn-cunningham-luebke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/the-preserver-by-dawn-cunningham-luebke\/","title":{"rendered":"The Preserver by Dawn Cunningham Luebke"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

The Preserver<\/h1>\n

by Dawn Cunningham Luebke<\/p>\n

Salamonie Reservoir :hundreds of yards
\nof shimmering leaves bubble
\ntrails in my eye. Dead trees
\nthumb a ride, left behind
\nafter man flooded the land. I slow down
\nfor the red light. There’s a ripple
\nin the drowning: a boat moves
\nlike an upside-down swing; fishes. The old
\nchurch steeple just peeks
\nit has been a hot summer and I
\nwonder if the boat will catch
\nfish with answers.<\/p>\n

Limbs do not wave
\nin the hot breeze, so stiff,
\nreaching to breathe. A blue heron flies,
\nrubbing in her freedom. Here,
\nwater came to Monument City for flood
\ncontrol. The boat pulls and tugs,
\ncaught on a pane; the boat burdened
\nby another good jig lost
\nto an unmanned home. The rippled-reflection
\nis perfect teeth flossed by fishermen’s
\nsnagged lines.<\/p>\n

I say Thank You. My brother
\nfished here nearly a quarter
\nof a century ago. Today,
\nare only memories, stopping at the top
\nof the bridge, flashing emergency
\nlights. The ripples break the glass
\nwedged in my eye: each hill and dip
\na vision of him casting,
\nreeling. The water,
\nsand deep this year.<\/p>\n

A child runs, skips a rock, splashes
\nand waves; his blue short sleeve
\nshirt and rolled up jeans blend
\ninto Dennis doing jumping jacks.
\nFrantic arms signal . . . seeing you
\n(no stanza break)<\/p>\n

again in the Salamonie. Forgive me
\nwhen I forget. Don’t die
\nSalamonie \u00a0remember
\nfor us all. Be as you are;
\nyou can preserve;
\nnever apologize for your existence.
\nI bow, drop water,
\nand leave the rail to start my car.<\/p>\n

###
\nDawn Cunningham Luebke currently instructs composition at Indiana U. Purdue U. Fort Wayne (IPFW) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She has four beautiful children and five beautiful grandchildren. Her work has appeared in Confluence and Diagram. She hopes to continue her studies in Native American literature and science fiction literature, not excluding her creative writing in all genres.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Preserver by Dawn Cunningham Luebke Salamonie Reservoir :hundreds of yards of shimmering leaves bubble trails in my eye. Dead trees thumb a ride, left behind after man flooded the land. I slow down for the red light. There’s a ripple in the drowning: a boat moves like an upside-down swing; fishes. The old church…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,413],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-123","category-family-poems"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t