William Neumire
Resurrection Bay, Alaska

The first sign of snowfall drizzles its way
to the center of a net of fish,
above which tarp-gray heavens hide
the fisherman from the universe beyond
his iron theater. On the deck
he sorts the fish into greater and lesser
meals. What is the collective
noun for a deck full of dead fish?
He raises the silver in his two palms
and knows there will be more snow.

Inside, there hangs a picture
of his tenderly Philistine father
crouching in a storm one bad year
to save a bird. It was sick,
but in the dog-minded world of moment
he didn't think about the consequences
of kindness. He just knew every fallen thing
deserves a warm hand.

<< return to the Table of Contents for New Series #4: Winter 2012, Volume 2 Number 2