Death Of A Young Son By Drowning

DEATH OF A YOUNG SON BY DROWNING
He, who navigated with success
the dangerous river of his own birth
once more set forth

on a voyage of discovery
into the land I floated on
but could not touch to claim.

His feet slid on the bank,
the currents took him;
he swirled with ice and trees in the swollen water

and plunged into distant regions,
his head a bathysphere;
through his eyes' thin glass bubbles

he looked out, reckless adventurer
on a landscape stranger than Uranus
we have all been to and some remember.

There was an accident; the air locked,
he was hung in the river like a heart.
They retrieved the swamped body,

cairn of my plans and future charts,
with poles and hooks
from among the nudging logs.

It was spring, the sun kept shining, the new grass
leapt to solidity;
my hands glistened with details.

After the long trip I was tired of waves.
My foot hit rock. The dreamed sails
collapsed, ragged.

I planted him in this country
like a flag.


   Although i did like this poem the visual imagery presented to the readers is horrible. The tone of this poem is very sad. I cannot imagine having a loved one drown and having to burry them. If any of you have had to go through loosing a loved one and witnessing the funeral you can relate the the mother of this child. This young boy lost is life far too soon because he drowned. In my opinion that is one of the most horrible ways to die because of how much suffering he must have had to endure when he died.

"His feet slid on the bank,
the currents took him;
he swirled with ice and trees in the swollen water"

  I can only imagine how terrifying this must have been for the young boy. When told what the boy looked like when they found his body we are told "They retrieved the swamped body" . This tells us how the young boy appaeared when he was found.  I can only imagine how horrifying this must have been for his loved ones. The last line in the poem reads "I planted him in this country
like a flag" . This shows the mothers pride she had for her son . Even if you have't lost anyone you love to drowning when reading this poem I think we can all relate to how this mother must be feeling over loosing her son.