The ferry

They bartered Delaware ginseng for rides
across the channel’s rut of eddied leaves 
and flecked the maps with names in survey eyes. 
The piedmont’s cakes of chattel fenced the beef 
and plowmen winnowed lines between the strands, 
where tides visit the river’s stepping shale 
and keep the ships of tea from waking lands. 
The ferryman’s bride imported a veil 
and children sold the rafts and land for church 
and homes. The corn and peaches, haze ripened 
on hills that slope to streets, were kegged in birch 
and mossy nets spooked the leaping sturgeon. 
Down bridges and canals they passed around 
the best, and left the way to starting towns. 

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This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 30 Number 10, on page 32
Copyright © 2023 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2012/6/the-ferry