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.