Coastal Maine

 

“Lobster Fishermen” by Terrick Williams

 

 

rocky broaching shoals

guard ever-cold currents

whose clean teeming depths

engage stoic lobsterman

hardened by centuries

toiling, cohabiting

selfsame severe

marine ecosystems

where dwell their well-shelled

valanginian quarry

 

 

(originally posted May 2013)

Shallop

 

“Fishing Boat” by JWJarts

 

gentle lapping ebb-tide

tugs at my moorage

nudged toward the shore

waiting for my master

gillnets set for casting

once clear of the shoals

meantime pelicans

watching for breakfast

keep me company

while I doze on the swells

 

(originally posted June 2013)

Bonefish

“Cheating” by Anya Dunaif

(Originally posted here June 2013)

some men live for the cast
exult in the silvery catch
then squander their victory
burn down the thrill of new love
in abusive dry ash of indifference
neglecting the trophy
as soon as it’s mounted
returning their skiff to the shallows
ambivalent toward
the stunned woman behind
and the likely divorce dead ahead

Wild Caught

“Return of the Sockeye” by David McEown

cedar planked salmon
grilled to a mapled herb crust
the cold river smiled

Angling for Love

“Above Avery – Fly Fishing on the St Joe River”
Painting by Mary Maxam
From dailypainters.com

tell me of love
for the swift darting trout
the cold rush of the stream
its arpeggios played
upon glistening rocks

tell me of love
for the perfect hauled cast
its sweet placement upon
the most promising pool
overhung with beech shade

tell me of love
for the handsome turned flies
for the deft wickered creel
their mastery given
of craftsman aesthetic

tell me of love
for exhilarant air
charged by water and sun
for serenity shared
with one gold afternoon

tell me of love
for I am unable
to obtain it first hand
it’s your story will help
to construct my own dreams

Montauk

“Dunes at Montauk”
Painting by Ralph Papa
From fineartamerica.com

land’s end fingertip
sand and stone pointing
for easterly seas
taking tides to octagonal feet
of a towering jewel
bright with candling light
burning whale-oil beacon
to rival the gleam of the moon
warning seafaring souls
of a treacherous ground
hiding under the night
rocky shoals scarring
wind-driven waters that teem
with allure of abundance
more fish than colonial village
careers make do for ten
maritime-built generations
leviathans taken for industry
cod for the bellies
a violent enterprise
drawn from the brawn
of a new world abuilding
this far reach of settlement
striking the seam of
vast ocean vast continent
joining the past to the future
the calm to the storm
rebellion still far in the offing
of turbulent destiny

Widow

“Old Boat” by Tracy Effinger Upton

 

the rowboat
bumps gently
in moorage
asleep in her
dreams of
summertime
voyages cross
silver ponds
along banks of
svelte streams
iron oarlocks
intoning the
stout chants
of hardwood
in swivel and
swim through
deep pools of
cool fisheries
halting above
rower’s secret
most spot for
new mornings
of lazy delight
where the low
rising sun skims
and glances off
sparkling surfaces

all of a unit
the wood and
the rower
the water and
all of their
summertimes
sprung from
the dreamstuff
of one grieving
widow boat
left to her
paint crumbled
reverie missing
her untethered
days pulled with
pride and an
effortless glide
through the life
of the two arms
and hands that so
lovingly built her

Widow’s Walk

Sherman Gilbert House – Widow’s Walk
Photo by LM Harrison
From flickr.com

 

perched high where
the conjugal voices
of ghosts ride on
private blown breezes
and silent-borne dialogue
communicates news
of the living and dead

oaken balustrades
fashioned by
fisherman hands
on hiatus between
harpoon harvests
far off in the deeps
where somewhere
his bones
one day sank
to his peace

and she felt it
the moment it happened
a chill shook
the middle of her
as she climbed
straight and stoic
right up to the walk
to confirm what she knew
in her heart

now she smiles
through her tears
at the joy and the grief
of the presence of him
every evening
on high in her own
much beloved
private breeze

Isles of Shoals

“Coast Scene, Isles of Shoals”
Painting by Childe Hassam
From wikipaintings.org

rocky salt-whitened outcrops
uncomplaining stark sentinels
stand frigid duty
rise steadfast from glacier carved depths
teeming tumults of fisheries swirl around
timeworn austere tidal ledges
rough and tumbled with history
hard-living maritime woes
since the time of the Vikings
seeped into their garboil of crags
etching stoical handsomeness
weathered and wizened
uniquely well suited
reflective of rugged New Englander
stewards of nature’s harsh precincts

(Note: The Isles of Shoals are located in the north Atlantic Ocean, 6 miles from the New England coast, where they straddle the maritime border of Maine and New Hampshire.)

Dinner

Contoocook River, Henniker, NH
Photo from nhriversguide.com

(Note: Photo shows a section of the river that runs through my town.)

brimming their banks
local rivers are teeming
trout, walleye and bass
wet spring and summer bounty
fishermen’s skillets sizzle