“The water is wide, I can’t cross over
And neither have I wings to fly.
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row my love and I.”
These are the opening lyrics to “The Water is Wide.” I first became acquainted with the song when I purchased the Restless Nights album by Karla Bonoff in 1989. The song’s simple beauty, harmonies and acoustic guitar resonated with me.
In fact, I loved it so much that when my son was born in 1990, and he woke in the middle of the night, this is the song that came to me when I rocked him in the rocking chair, singing it barely above a whisper. With a talented woman like Bonoff taking on the melody, I guess I interpreted it as almost a lullaby.
As I sang to Will, I loved the imagery of crossing a wide river or lake in a boat and closed my eyes to see it and literally feel it as we rocked. If one believes in astrology, he and I were born under the same sign, a “water sign,” so it just felt right. And yes, he fell back asleep.
This memory is on my mind because I have been crossing many “wide waters” for months now and I’ve realized it brings a different kind of harmony for me.
Last September, I first crossed wide waters in a boat when it launched from Miami. That was the day we laid our mother’s ashes to rest at the Neptune Memorial Reef. It was a beautiful experience.
Only one week later, Dennis and I boarded our first cruise in our entire lives, sailing from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. With friends, we had booked a short three-day cruise because none of us were sure that we would even like it.
Of course, the ship and its’ countless activities were a lot of fun. Our balcony, however, provided the full-on magic as we sailed at night. We sat outside and looked up to the stars and down towards the white caps, which created a wide foamy chaos as they hit the hull; it was hypnotic. One night, there was a long tendril of fog moving over the boat as we headed west. The captain had mentioned we would cross from the Caribbean to the Atlantic overnight; was that fog the transition?
At one point, I turned to Dennis and said, “why did we wait so long to do this?”
He replied, “this is exactly when we are supposed to be doing it. Our timing was always now.”
Feeling pangs to return to the wide waters of the Atlantic and Caribbean, we booked a cruise last February for five days and one in May for four days. I understand now that the horizon in the middle of the ocean is mesmerizing; and addicting.
Then just two weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to “cross” fresh water, and I jumped at it. My stepson and his wife, Andy and Leslie, invited us to join them in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a few days. It was great fun. On the last day, they asked if we wanted to take out their kayaks. Dennis declined, but I really wanted to do it because I have never kayaked. I have canoed several times, but never positioned my body into a kayak. In fact, we did a dry run at their home to ensure I had the body strength to pull myself out, and luckily; I passed.
While the two men stayed on shore, Leslie and I paddled to the other side of a local lake. Looking straight ahead, I saw my bow and beautiful water and a green tree line ahead of me. We moved flawlessly through some reeds into a deeper area. There was such a feeling of quiet freedom, and a realization that there will be many wide waters ahead for me. They’re all wonderful.
I would like to add that I was stunned to learn “The Water is Wide” was actually written by Bob Dylan. Bonoff only covered it. For 32 years, I thought it was her song. I dug a little deeper and noticed that Bonoff had, in fact, changed some of Dylan’s lyrics because they turn away from love in his version I’m sticking with hers. And speaking of harmony, James Taylor joins Bonoff in the end.
On a different kind of note, summer happens to be the season where I temporarily put the blog on pause so I can focus on other writing. If there is a story which won’t keep quiet in my head, it will land here, I’ll also poke my head into a few blogs here and there. I think I’ll be back in August sometime.
Leavingthedooropen.com 
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