Rowing, November



The way the body wants to pull its own weight,
         hands curled around the shaft of the oar, drawing it clean

through bitter water as blood rushes out the doors
         of your capable heart and cold air billows into both lungs,

the release a kind of violence, oar's brief rest
         as it's feathered, skimming on air and then the quick

turn, the catch, and it grips its width of river again,
the body in love with use, flat back muscles tight over

shoulder blades, all the bones of the wrist steady, your arms
         pulling hard and straight, fingers curved loose but ready

to grip if the oar hits a pocket of air or a branch,
         submerged, if it scoops a rat's sodden carcass up to the surface

as you pass. You unclench your teeth but set the jaw
         in concentration. The plates of kneecap slide across their ends

of bone as the big thigh muscles contract, relax,
         begin to shake with joy, doing their work. Frost glazes

the drooping willows. Black-crowned herons
         rustle on their secret branches, ready for sleep while your eyes

search now for the first flare of light to smooth
         the curves of the undersides of bridges, sheen of sweat

across your brow, the body's prayer, and steam
         escaping in grunts from parted lips, hips

balanced an inch over water, the narrow boat
         surging and gliding into another winter morning.

--Molly Fisk, from The Green Glass Country

Molly Fisk, '77 (Radcliffe Crew '75-'77) is a poet living in Nevada City,
CA. She's received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council, and her book Listening to Winter
is #4 in the California Poetry Series. Despite thinking about mornings on
the Charles often in the last 25 years, this is her first rowing poem; it's
part of a new manuscript: The Green Glass Country. You can
contact Molly and see more of her work, including excerpts from her
self-help book Coming Back to Life, a Guide for Abuse Survivors, 
at Salt Water Poetry, www.oro.net/~molly

 

Radcliffe Crew celebrated its 30th Anniversary as a Harvard University Varsity sport in the Spring of 2002.  To commemorate this important milestone in women's sports, the Friends of Harvard Radcliffe Rowing, together with the team, hosted an evening celebration at the Weld Boathouse.  The objective of the event was to reunite, in that beautiful and meaningful venue, as many of the rowing Alumnae as could be assembled from across Radcliffe's 30 years of intercollegiate competition.  We had a lovely evening which was in part a reunion, in part a reflection, but also a reconfirmation of the program as an important element of the undergraduate experience.

With the success of this event, we look forward to celebrating future anniversaries as they arrive.  At this time we wish to make a concerted effort to reach out to all Radcliffe rowing alumnae who are not currently identified as rowing alumnae.  In particular we seek contact information for alumnae from the period 1972-1986.  If you know of any former Radcliffe rower who may be "out of touch," or would like to ensure that boat- and team-mates are contacted, or if you would like more information, please contact Weld Boathouse at 617 495 9249. If you yourself are a Radcliffe alumna, please let us know what you are up to!