Page 56 - HEF Pen & Ink 2022

On the cold gray water
Ripples moved outward
From the surfacing head of the cutthroat
I stood ashore Watching it feed
The trout glides slowly through the weeds An undisturbed moment of clarity
In the still morning air
The lake without the fish A lover without a love Together they are one Serene and whole
I don’t pretend to know How it came to be
Its eyes of glass
And fins of silk
But its quiet mystery Makes me believe
Fog drifts along the water Ghostly shapes swirling within The trout below
Reflecting the light of the sun
O people above
Do we think we know more?
Than the creatures that came before Than the trout that watches and waits With a quiet wisdom
More powerful than any machine
Others find life in concrete jungles Among the lights
And sound
But I know
Deep in the water Among the trout
And when the cutthroat disappears Among the rocks
It marks the end
The end of the days spent in the sun Spent on the shore
Watching them jump
I walked along the river
Right by its side
Knowing the cutthroat follows its waters
It swirls and races
Over rocks and through rapids
But I knew the trout would be safe In a pool
Or an eddy
Peaceful as always
In ice cold waters
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Cutthroat
By Elsa Grebenc
True life is found deep in the woods
54
By Morgane Fourré