Hackles darned and threaded tight,
Dubbing blends to shape and hide,
Hook disguised as nymph in flight

The bait,
The lure,
A scaled-up knight,
Who swims beneath
The sun’s bright gleam,
And hides within
The water’s dream.

My rod pulls back,
I give a cast,
Ten to two, then two to ten,
I let the fly drift past again.

It drops in place,
No sound, no trace,
No tug, no pull, no race,
Until I twitch and snap the slack,
The hook sets firm,
I’ve met my match.

The water slaps,
I hear my shout,
A trout! A trout!
I dance about.

I tug the rod,
I turn the reel,
A fight too strong for me to feel.

And when the net secures my prize,
I stop,
and look into its eyes.

Compassion, sudden and alive,
I free the hook,
I let it dive

We’re both really lucky you and me
Until tomorrow,
We are both free