A little diner by the river

Poet looks back on father's diner on a Miramichi River ferry wharf from the 1960s

The remains of the former ferry wharf on Ferry Road, with the Rodd Miramichi River Hotel and its riverside diner in the background. (FREE PRESS PHOTO)

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Inspired by the diner my father ran at the ferry wharf on the Miramichi River in the 1960s, this poem is a tribute to the laughter, the stories, and the hands that carried both duty and welcome.

I recently found myself reflecting on Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s The Pennycandystore Beyond The El, a poem that captures fleeting moments with dreamlike clarity.

Like his penny candy shop, my father’s diner was a place of movement and memory — where time lingers even as it flows.

A Little Diner by the River carries that same spirit — the swirl of voices, the rhythm of time, and the ever-changing tide.