I drifted
Along the riverbank,
Taking pause
To eye each swirling pool
And eddy,
Stepping lightly
Over smoothed stones
And knotted nests of branches,
Scanning the soft
Silted earth
For footprints,
And listening –
To the whisper
Of the water.
A doe met
The river’s edge
She paused to drink –
And contemplate
Her reflection,
Then crossed
With care,
Paying no attention
To my quiet casts
And wandering
Mind.
I heard the
Hushed waving
Of the
Great Blue Heron’s
Wings.
He peered down
At me with pity,
Or –
It may have been
Disdain,
My pastime
After all,
Is his
Necessity.
It matters not
Whether the
Trout,
With her smooth
And shining body
Is fooled
By my dancing.
Her speckled scales
Undulate
As she glides
Against the
Slow moving current.
She is at peace
Below the
Mirrored surface –
Held in stillness,
Beneath the rushing
Of the
Day.
“Dan is a teacher from Colorado. He holds an undergraduate degree in Biology and is working on a master’s in Waldorf Education. He likes to ride his bike in the foothills and fly fish on the local river. He writes in the mornings with his coffee, and oats with frozen blueberries.”