By CYNTHIA M. SHARPE

Cynthia Sharpe, a former North Carolina Sea Grant communications intern, graduated with a degree in English from North Carolina State University this spring.

The Pasquotank River is a place for reflection and renewal. Photo courtesy Cynthia Sharpe.

I find peace at the river
At the close of the day
Where problems still exist,
but troubles wash away.

I don’t have to wade in it.
It wades in me.
Peering out over the water,
Assuredly,
I am free.

Waves slosh against the pillars.
I peer down and grip tight.
It rocks me. It sways me.
But it feels…
It feels right.

The gulls have gone to rest.
The boating and fishing stopped.
It is me, the sky, and the water
as I stand on the edge of the dock.

This poem was published in the Summer 2015 issue of Coastwatch.

For contact information and reprint requests, visit ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/contact/.