The Iron Boat
Pwu Jean Lee
The boat heaped
with belligerent ore,
carved secret furrows
on the satin face
of Lake Conscience.
I used the oar as a scoop
to unload the sinking cargo.
One, and two and
Thousands more to go.
The black sand
of overharvested guilt
flying in the sun,
like needles of sleet
melting in the forgiving air.
As my spirit firecrackering,
the unloaded boat
glided steadily forward
for the first time
free of irons.
Pwu Jean Lee is the author of the book of poems, East Wind, West Rain. Proficient in both English and Chinese, she has won various writing competitions in both languages. Since 2002, her verses ‘A Female Son' excerpted from this book were etched on the marble wall of the PENN STATION in Manhattan, New York City. The exhibition along with poems by Walt Whitman and eleven other American Poets is for permanent display.