Fishing in a Mountain Stream
We made bait with Wonder bread
balls rolled through ground garlic
and then piled into plastic bags
ready for a morning of fishing—
in a stream running full
Five boys scattered — looking
forward to a perfect fishing spot—
a place to catch Small Mouth Bass,
Sunfish or maybe even Rainbow Trout
I sat on a stream rock
with a pole made of a broken branch
and a fishing line tied to one end,
a garlic ball on a hook at the other end
One of the older boys offered to remove
the hook if any fish bothered to bite
I watched the spots of light on the water,
the way the current moved a twig downstream
and the wavy pattern of fish swimming
I listened to the sound of water
traveling over rocks
and the sound of fish being thrown in a pail
for an evening meal
