by Susan Charkes
(Millstone River watershed)
we march upstream,
a phalanx, rubberclad
lined bank to bank.
current leaps forward
from the sweeping prod,
tugging at its lead
noses into tree root eddies,
scuffles clods of bottom silt,
chases outflows as they flee.
behind us in the current’s wake
fish clouds billow, royal trains.
whitecaps, a bellied gleam:
limpid waves now stilled,
eyes open, red gills gaping,
this air, this air
the shapes so clear
surfaced
they can be netted
netted
they can be named –
tessellated darter
creek chub-sucker
redbreast sunfish
green sunfish
spottail shiner
comely shiner
swallowtail shiner
satinfin shiner
pumpkinseed
yellow bullhead
banded killifish
blacknose dace
pirate perch
bluegill
pickerel
American eel.
named
they can be counted
counted
they can be returned
returned
the current
takes them back
Susan Charkes, a freelance writer focusing on outdoors, nature and the environment, is on the communications team for D&R Greenway Land Trust.
