Paper Boats

The page wanted to be a novel
but couldn’t even make a chapter

I folded it into a crane
as a way of saying I’m sorry

It couldn’t fly
instead sat steady on the book I was reading

I unfolded the wings
and smoothed out the creases

The page wanted to be a plane
but it was already a two-dimensional rectangle

I folded it into a boat
and took it to the river

We’ve been through so much together
I’ve erased more than I’ve mentioned to you

Now we are at the shore
and I set the soft over-folded paper into the current

Watching it float downstream
there is a direct line to the page and my heart

The line is invisible
made both of hope and loss

I rise from the flat surface of water
the paper boat grows smaller and smaller

Jeanette Powers is a writer living on the banks of the Gasconade River. They have seven full-length books of poetry, the most recent of which is “Sparkle Princess vs. Suicidal Phoenix” by Spartan Press. They are also a founding member of FountainVerse: KC Small Press Poetry Fest and editor in abetting at Stubborn Mule Press.