When the line tangles

And the fish don’t nibble,

You need a morale booster;

Particularly in the fall 

when the fishing days are numbered.

Is it ridiculous to

Turn to the English poet

William Ernest Henley who wrote:

“In the fell clutch of circumstance 

  I have not winced nor cried aloud.   

Under the bludgeonings of chance   

  My head is bloody, but unbowed.”  

Is it enough to 

love the river – 

its beauty,

Its serenity;

Even its reticence to

give up its trout?

Why do we need to

make a morning

on the Battenkill

into a meta event?

September 22, 2022