Fishing, His Birthday

With adams, caddis, tricos, light cahills,

blue-wing olives, royal coachmen, chartreuse trudes,

green drakes, blue duns, black gnats, Nancy quills,

Joe’s hoppers, yellow humpies, purple chutes,

prince nymphs, pheasant tails, Eileen’s hare’s ears,

telicos, flashbacks, Jennifer’s muddlers,

Frank bugs, sow bugs, zug bugs, autumn splendors,

woolly worms, black buggers, Kay’s gold zuddlers,

clippers, tippet, floatant, spools of leader,

tin shot, lead shot, hemostats, needle nose,

rod, reel, vest, net, boots, cap, shades and waders,

gortex shell and one bent Macanudo—

I wade in a swirl of May-colored water,

cast a fine gray quill, the last tie of my father.

Copyright Credit: Poem copyright ©2009 by Michael Sowder, from his most recent book of poetry, The Empty Boat, Truman State University Press, 2004. Reprinted by permission of Michael Sowder. Introduction copyright ©2010 by The Poetry Foundation.