SAMPLE POEMS – The River-Fed Stone <--back to main samples page

THE SPIRIT OF MR. FINN

Two girls and a boy spread blankets
On the bank of a pond,
Covered by pregnant dandelions
And the honks of cruising mallards.

The boy casts his line into the water,
Rubs his hands on cutoffs
And argues with the girls, loudly—
Much too loud to catch a fish.

The girls burst into campsong
Beneath raucous mockingbirds:
“I’m trying to catch something!” the boy yells—
to no avail. It’s songtime.

“YEAHHHHH!” Cheers engulf
The boy as reels in a catfish,
A real keeper, large enough to feed all,
And holds it up for the girls to see.

He runs barefoot up the bank, catfish hanging
From fingers, body flapping against cutoffs.
The girls’ song evaporates before
A story told with silence.