He needed nothing for Christmas
but fishing was in his blood

Just to feel the sea breeze
the smell of the water
the pull on the line

The last time he was able to fish
he caught nothing
except the memory of a sad stray cat
that ate the leftover bait he threw to it

I’m not doing that again he said
but I knew better

Today he went again
and caught a mangrove snapper
then slowly savored it
baked in lemon butter

He was renewed
a present he actually needed

A simple man
with a deep sense of belonging

Selected byNolcha Fox
Image credit:Clark Young

I am a retired entomologist/educator and have been writing poetry for a long time. It's only been in the last few years that I have taken it a little more seriously. I have written hundreds of poems, but still don't consider myself to be an accomplished poet. I keep trying through writing to find new perspectives that reveal the layers of meaning that are always there, just below the surface of the obvious. Some of the poets who have influenced me are W.S. Merwin, Ted Hughes, Dylan Thomas, and Galway Kinnell. However, lately, I agree with what the Poet Laureate Kay Ryan said: "I have tried to live very quietly, so I could be happy...It seems like many people think that if you drive yourself crazy, then you can write. I wanted to see what a fortunate life would produce. What writing would come out of this mind that didn't try to torment itself."