Poem: The Day My Dad Let Me Drive the Boat

The Day My Dad Let Me Drive the Boat

by Michael Escoubas

It was when he said, I trust you, that everything changed. At fourteen, I stood in the seam of time, more than a boy, less than a man, not really one thing or the other.

I knew Dad’s ten-horse Evinrude better than the book: one-part oil, two-parts gas, three strokes on the choke, then rip the cord.

In looking back, I’m with him now on the sun-bleached, wooden pier, fishing gear in hand, boat swaying as the waves swoosh in, clouds dancing in blue summer air, I hear him say, once again, I trust you.

Previously published in the June 2018 issue of Quill and Parchment.

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The Illinois Symphony Orchestra Guild of Bloomington-Normal hosts its 4th “Lavender and Lemons:

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SATURDAY, JUNE 12

Tour proceeds will benefit the Illinois Symphony Orchestra’s education programs for children.

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