Ah, the joy of discovering.

My young feet got muddy walking the Mississippi's banks

with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

The First Voyages Out 

Paul Martin 

Walking across the bridge on my way

to school, I’d lean over the railing

and stare down at the river

until I was moving

on a ship’s stern

past the wooded banks

and the smoky mill towns toward

the ocean and the shining world beyond

I was beginning to read about -

Egypt, Rome, Greece and the Parthenon,

their golden light drawing me

past my friends’ shouts to hurry

or we’d be late, their voices drowning

in the wake of my departure.