Mer Douce, calm deceiver,
sweetwater viper, maker
of quick rises and sang froid,
we thrash under tsunami
helpless in invisible waves
pushed inexorably
westward to crash against
boulder-strewn wallets.We sail in histories
of our own manufacture,
our shamans chanting
songs of thermalclines.
We troll for manitus,
worship glo-in-the-dark wobblies
and fate -- mighta, coulda, woulda --
if only you gents was here last week
when electric pink can-don-can't miss gizmos
fast-hauled fathoms-deep
over Japanese-made transducers
from Bob's Baits limited us out
seven days running.I am drawn to big water
wading at first light
through gray rollers
on weightless feet
over green gneiss stones
the size of softballs,
my limp line glistening
cold, ice in the eyelets
squinting into a dull sun.
I cast blindly, free-spooling
for coasters, scions spawned
from German genes.I have no urgency
in my soul or schedule,
like the fish
I am too whimsical
to be conquered
with regularity.
We are chaos,
our own order
like the sweet sea
which nurtures trout
and kills with a warm smile.
RWOL
