At The Cedars Poem by Duncan Campbell Scott

At The Cedars

Rating: 2.6


You had two girls -- Baptiste --
One is Virginie --
Hold hard -- Baptiste!
Listen to me.

The whole drive was jammed
In that bend at the Cedars,
The rapids were dammed
With the logs tight rammed
And crammed; you might know
The Devil had clinched them below.

We worked three days -- not a budge,
'She's as tight as a wedge, on the ledge,'
Says our foreman;
'Mon Dieu! boys, look here,
We must get this thing clear.'
He cursed at the men
And we went for it then;
With our cant-dogs arow,
We just gave he-yo-ho;
When she gave a big shove
From above.

The gang yelled and tore
For the shore,
The logs gave a grind
Like a wolf's jaws behind,
And as quick as a flash,
With a shove and a crash,
They were down in a mash,
But I and ten more,
All but Isaàc Dufour,
Were ashore.

He leaped on a log in the front of the rush,
And shot out from the bind
While the jam roared behind;
As he floated along
He balanced his pole
And tossed us a song.
But just as we cheered,
Up darted a log from the bottom,
Leaped thirty feet square and fair,
And came down on his own.

He went up like a block
With the shock,
And when he was there
In the air,
Kissed his hand
To the land;
When he dropped
My heart stopped,
For the first logs had caught him
And crushed him;
When he rose in his place
There was blood on his face.

There were some girls, Baptiste,
Picking berries on the hillside,
Where the river curls, Baptiste,
You know -- on the still side
One was down by the water,
She saw Isaàc
Fall back.

She did not scream, Baptiste,
She launched her canoe;
It did seem, Baptiste,
That she wanted to die too,
For before you could think
The birch cracked like a shell
In that rush of hell,
And I saw them both sink --

Baptiste ! --
He had two girls,
One is Virginie,
What God calls the other
Is not known to me.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Rajesh Thankappan 06 February 2017

A sad tale howcasing the uncertainity and fragility of life. A beautiful poem indeed.

2 0 Reply
Richard Wlodarski 06 February 2017

Tragically suspenseful. Unique style of writing. Deservedly, Poem Of The Day. Congratulations, Duncan!

1 1 Reply
Sylvaonyema Uba 06 February 2017

Lovely piece of poem. Sylva.

1 0 Reply
Edward Kofi Louis 06 February 2017

Block, lock! With the muse of life. Thanks for sharing this poem with us.

1 0 Reply
Bernard F. Asuncion 06 February 2017

Interesting poem.... Thanks for sharing...........

1 0 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Close
Error Success