fishing the river is for old men, solitary figures who saw their original sin and now see darkness closing in fishing is for old men, who can stand to watch the leaves pass them by on the soft singing waters and not wonder where they go, for they know, it matters not if they make it to the black sea, tarry a while on a quiet bank, or sink into the silt fishing is for old men, who dream while awake whose eyes no longer flutter but squint in the sunβs naked white journey from shore to shore when their line becomes taut, they know now a slow dance, a chat will ensue, not a battle they once felt compelled to fight, part of the larger war, raging, raging against the night, for the fishβ¦or the fisherman, knows when the conversation ends his line will again be loose, drifting on the currents bound for the certainty of uncertainty fishing is for old men I am haunted by waters
**"I am haunted by waters" is the closing line of Norman Maclean's short book, "A River Runs Through It". Nothing came to mind when I thought of the title of the story--the last line bore more fruit