FISHING BELOW THE DAM


On summer evenings the working men gather to fish in the swift water below the dam.  They sit on the rocks and are silent for the most part, looking into the water and casting again and again.  Lines tangle, tackle is lost and a fisherman curses to himself.  No one notices.  It is simply a part of the routine, like the backs of their wives in bed at night or short words to the children in the morning.  Only the water holds their attention, crashing through the spillway with enough force behind it to break a man's back.  And the undertow could take you as easily as a bit of fish line and toss you ashore miles downstream.  The men shout to be heard above the roar of the water.  ANY LUCK?  NO I JUST GOT HERE.




© 2008 by Louis Jenkins


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