Our first Deep Water poem of 2022, Mark Melnicove’s “Commandments,” relates an ecstatic moment of learning and communion in a Maine river. I love this poem’s rich simplicity and its timeless, joyous conversation between the speaker and the sky.

Melnicove recently retired from teaching English at Falmouth High School. He is co-author with Margy Burns Knight of “Africa is Not a Country,” which received the Africana Book Award, and is author of two collections of ekphrastic poetry: “Sometimes Times” (with artist Terry Winters, 2017) and “Ghosts” (with artist Abby Shahn, 2018).

Commandments

By Mark Melnicove

The clouds sang,​ Fly with us,

a chorus heard from my perch on earth.

I asked,​ How?

They answered,​ Don’t jump, swim.

So I eased my body

into the Kennebec, out to sea.

I shouted, I see

but cannot touch you.

The clouds counseled,​ Emote,

enjoining me to weep

happiness, happiness

raining from my brain.

Megan Grumbling is a poet and writer who lives in Portland. Deep Water: Maine Poems is produced in collaboration with the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. “Commandments,” copyright © 2022 by Mark Melnicove, appears by permission of the author.