Ferry

Recuerdo
We were very tired, we were very merry --
We had gone back and forth all night upon the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable --
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on the hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.

We were very tired, we were very merry --
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.

We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed, "Good morrow, mother!" to a shawl-covered head,
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, "God bless you!" for the apples and the pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.

- Edna St. Vincent Millay, A Few Figs from Thistles: Poems and Sonnets

Most of us are familiar with large ferries like the Staten Island Ferry

http://www.si-web.com/

or this one, which travels between Nantucket and Hyannis.

http://www.steamshipauthority.com/

I was surprised to learn, however, that there are still several inland ferries operating in the United States. Some are of medium size, such as this one over the Susquehanna at Millersburg, Pennsylvania:

http://www.millersburg.com/

In all there are at least 75 inland ferries over rivers in the United States. It is not surprising that most connect cities on the Mississippi River. There are also several on the Ohio, Columbia and Willamette Rivers.

This ferry is on the Green River between Cool Springs and Rochester on Highway 369. To find out about the others, visit http://www.webspawner.com/users/b389.

copyright 2005