The Loch Raven Smile
Posted: August 25th, 2015, 10:33 am
the little electric motor is so quiet
i cannot hear it above the jet stream
of happy cooing doves, I shut it off
anyway, drift the bass boat into the cove
a great blue heron glides into the aromatic pines
the geese no longer migrate
from Loch Raven Reservoir, they've decided
to stick it out in the warming airs of the new winters
a bald eagle cruises above every single treetop
it's wingspan a feathery 747, I cast my ultra light
St. Croix, the lure sinks slowly into the thin grasses
makes little concentric circles as I reel her back to the boat
and I really couldn't care less
if I catch a fish today, it's all a grand ruse
to find the furtive solitude that comes to a very good actor,
and if I happen to land a keeper this morning
I will thank him for his sacrifice
an opportunity missed when I dine on chicken
pork, or beef, but today only a small perch is hungry
enough to bite my 4 pound line
so I gently remove the treble hook
ease him back into his living room
head the boat out to the point, a big turtle dives
from a fallen branch near the shore
I smile
i cannot hear it above the jet stream
of happy cooing doves, I shut it off
anyway, drift the bass boat into the cove
a great blue heron glides into the aromatic pines
the geese no longer migrate
from Loch Raven Reservoir, they've decided
to stick it out in the warming airs of the new winters
a bald eagle cruises above every single treetop
it's wingspan a feathery 747, I cast my ultra light
St. Croix, the lure sinks slowly into the thin grasses
makes little concentric circles as I reel her back to the boat
and I really couldn't care less
if I catch a fish today, it's all a grand ruse
to find the furtive solitude that comes to a very good actor,
and if I happen to land a keeper this morning
I will thank him for his sacrifice
an opportunity missed when I dine on chicken
pork, or beef, but today only a small perch is hungry
enough to bite my 4 pound line
so I gently remove the treble hook
ease him back into his living room
head the boat out to the point, a big turtle dives
from a fallen branch near the shore
I smile