The Uncatchable Fish

The uncatchable fish
Truly a river god
A wonder
So very proud of his longevity
His radiant fins skull slowly

Has he graduated at the top of his class?
Has he built a robust business?
Does he have a trophy wife?
Is he a quoted author?
No

Though he bested the one who has
He has beat the one who is
He wears his scars proudly
In his piscatorial perfection

When younger, just a sprat really
He would jump into things greedily
He wanted to be first
To grab the prize and run

But the sting of sharp realization
Has made him philosophical
He has become methodical
A bit of a sage really

The most beautiful yellow mayfly
Is just one of many for the tasting
The most perfect tidbit
Is another’s bitter pill of destruction

Time is on his side
Look twice and bite once he has learnt
Think about what you are doing
And why you are doing it

Is the timing right?
If not turn your back and walk away
The early bird doesn’t get the worm
The early bird gets nailed to a wall

The youngsters come and go
Many don’t stay long enough to create an impression
Just blurs of color and motion
They think they are indestructible….HA!

Wet World

On Haines Wharf's ancient spine
The timbers would hop and jump squealing with pain
Of various vehicles long remembered
Sea salt smell and boat motors blue smoke
Ever-greedy sea gulls gliding

In the back, in a "off limits to public” place
By the small shake shack, with opaque wizened windows
Where the boat lift motor was haphazardly lounging
With murky mysterious mixtures milling about in rusty cans
And old tools and rags of course

There was a large crack amongst the boards
And peering through this rent in the pier
A door to a watery world was opened
The information revealed varied with the tides,
The sunlight, the weather and nature's perversity

Once, a huge school of piling perch had gathered
They had bunched up in a fixed formation
Sculling in shaded standstills
Slowly, silently, they slipped along the sand
Revealing the secrets of their species

I never studied schoolwork more studiously
Spying intently how they ate
Visually separating the blue perch from the silver
Whispering to my buddy Brock
As if they could hear our impish intentions

Imagining shallow water stealth spookiness
Instead of fat contentment
It seemed like a Rockwell black-and-white print
Piscatorial perfection
Until all hell broke loose when hooked

The blurs of fat fighting furies
Stumbling, squirming, yelling to stay connected
Threading the beauty into steaming sunlight
Into our world
Of secret smiles and crayon color

Silver sides shivering with sparkling scaled stripes
Miracles of cunning creation for us to touch
A true wet wonderment
We exchanged an intimate knowledge
Until we sadly kissed them and sent them home