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his fingers when he paused to rest. His grip was weak and he occasion-
ally lost one oar or another overboard, making it necessary to paddle
back to the floating oar, secure it, and start out anew after great waste

of effort.
When the sun sank low on the western horizon the first familiar

signs appeared along the shore. In the far distance he spotted the
century-old lighthouse and he felt as good as home. His spirits soared,
and in his exuberance he pulled harder than had been his custom in
the day thus far. Food, drink, and rest were not far distant now, or so
it seemed. Just a few more strokes and he would be home. But his
progress was painfully slow and the burst of energy soon ebbed away,
leaving utter exhaustion in its stead. He rowed mechanically with
short weak strokes, never looking up, never daring to look at the
shore, for it was unbearable to see how far there was yet to go. Then,
as if by magic, his cottage appeared to the port and he knew he had
made it. With a few strokes he was through the rolling surf and

beached on the smooth sands.
Two men, friends of his, ran across the beach to give him a hand

with the dory, for they saw his weariness. They asked him where he
had been, for they had been worried, but when he told them, their
expressions indicated their disbelief. This did not disturb the boy,
for he knew, and that was all that mattered. The day on the open
sea, rowing some twenty-five or thirty miles, had been a rigorous test.
Now three rewards awaited-food, drink, and rest, and his apprecia-
tion of them would be greater than ever before. As he walked away
from the dory he clutched the single shell brought back from the
island. To him it was a badge of manhood and it would someday re-

mind him of the strength of his youth.

Thus the boy had found some measure of his endurance, perhaps
much in the same way as had the unknown courier, the Greek youth
who bore news of victory along the road from Marathon so many

years ago.

Haiku Poetry

NAOMI SAIFUKU

Softly fluttering Heaven.
Feathery falling
Colors of a sunburnt
A utumn Leaves

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