A selection from The Strait by Andrew Jarvis, finalist for the 2014 Homebound Publications Poetry Prize. The Strait explores sensory experiences gleamed from the natural environment, historic traditions, archaeological findings, and folklore of the Pacific Northwest. Jarvis presents a spiritual and honest landscape rich with images and metaphors that define our place in this beautiful, multicultural world and what it means to be human. The poems move from mystical shores to haunting woodlands, a multifaceted exploration of the imaginary and the real.
Garage Boots
These must have held a man
who refused to sit down,
an expert on footprints.
There are no laces left,
but just the thin old threads
of years of knots and bows.
You can’t see through the mud,
the brown and black amassed
around the heels and toes.
The soles are still intact,
so he knew how to walk
to keep his self aligned.
They must have plowed a field
and scoped an old worksite
gauged by their tattered treads.
A trail, a hill, a swamp,
they must have climbed them all,
leaving nothing unclaimed.
A moth descends in one,
not caring much for dirt
but for what lies inside.
It flies around flippant
to the foot, wondering
what steps are coming next.
The Strait
Poems by Andrew Jarvis
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