The MSJ Varsity 8 racing at HOCR 11 The poet, racing in two-seat for the Mount

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Legacy

On water
It’s different
There aren’t any refs
Or plays

We are on from
The moment
An oar
Touches the water

On water
I don’t think
I exist
I take a chance

And wait
For the feeling
That exists
Inside

Curling around itself
It chokes the
Predictions
Set in stone

By the rifts
In our minds
Each wall
That is
Broken

Redefines that strength
Of our arms
That lock and load
The gun

Constantly pushing
The limit
That we never
Seem to reach

We are set apart
By a drive
That can only be described
Not in words

But in numbers
I don’t move
Through the water
I fly

Each breath
A pause
Before an explosion
A smile
That breaks out

Because I know,
I know what can happen
And is about
To happen

We sit in this room
And envision
Something
Every single one of us

Struggles to put
In words
Why not?
Rowing within

The legacy
We fly
It can take you
By the hair
And whip across
Your cheek

A hurt that
You will not remember
A burn that
You will look back on

And want to feel
Again to
Remember how
You earned

The medal and
The title
Of a season
That would begin

A legacy
No one else
Can leave
On a river
That delivers
The opportunity
Of a lifetime

Ehrlich, a senior, rows two-seat for the Mount Saint Joseph varsity eight. She wrote this poem to read to her team mates at the boat talk before her final Head of the Charles rowing for the Mount.
"I decided to do what I do best and write a poem to read to my boat before our big race. This year was different. We had the opportunity to be in the top five, and I had to say something to motivate my teamates," says Ehrlich. She submitted it to row2k in the hope that "my poem could inspire other rowers, and generally bring a sense of unity to the rowing community through its message." Thanks, Rose.