The Man with the Blue Canoe

The man bent over his canoe,
An oarsman of sorts. The day was blue.

They said, "You have a blue canoe,
You do not see things as we do."

The man replied, "The things we do
Are changed upon the blue canoe."

And they said then, "But see, you must,
A sight beyond us, yet we trust,

A ride upon the blue canoe
shows things faithful to their truth."

So that's life, then: things and their truth?
As you pick your way in the blue canoe.

A million people on one ride?
And all their manner far and wide,

And all their manner, right and wrong,
And all their manner, weak and strong?

And that's life, then: things and their truth,
This riding in the blue canoe.


with apologies to Wallace Stevens
'The Man with the Blue Guitar'