Angling expectations
Anchor hanging over rocky bottom near jumping rock:
a good place for Smallmouth, I’d assured myself
I intently reeling
Partner calmly reading
four outings, not a nibble
Upland, the squirrel’s constant chatter
Fishing turns to philosophy:
questioning ways of man
puzzling at ways of nature
Then a strike, tentative, perhaps Lake Trout!
… I’ll never know
I pull anchor and drift, let go the images of me landing fish; the whole enterprise takes on new purpose. I perceive fish as wise, like pine rooting in the rocks, as indifferent to my pursuits as the chattering squirrel.
Another September I shall paddle back, eager to cast and reel.
a good place for Smallmouth, I’d assured myself
I intently reeling
Partner calmly reading
four outings, not a nibble
Upland, the squirrel’s constant chatter
Fishing turns to philosophy:
questioning ways of man
puzzling at ways of nature
Then a strike, tentative, perhaps Lake Trout!
… I’ll never know
I pull anchor and drift, let go the images of me landing fish; the whole enterprise takes on new purpose. I perceive fish as wise, like pine rooting in the rocks, as indifferent to my pursuits as the chattering squirrel.
Another September I shall paddle back, eager to cast and reel.