Anchored
by Dale Patterson
Reeds porcupine
the back of grey sky.
Rain dimples the lake.
Minnows are lovers
tucked into drifts
of settling silt.
A pickerel suspends
like a U-boat an inch
from the surface
flexes its gills,
opens a mouth
of pin needle teeth.
Father says
persevere
and curses the bites
of a thousand
mosquitoes.
Jing Ting,
his frog colored lure
again and again.
by Dale Patterson
Reeds porcupine
the back of grey sky.
Rain dimples the lake.
Minnows are lovers
tucked into drifts
of settling silt.
A pickerel suspends
like a U-boat an inch
from the surface
flexes its gills,
opens a mouth
of pin needle teeth.
Father says
persevere
and curses the bites
of a thousand
mosquitoes.
Jing Ting,
his frog colored lure
again and again.
Bio: Dale Patterson is a visual
artist and poet living in Indiana. His work has been published in many online
and print journals; the most recent appearing in: Pilgrimage, The Tower
Journal, The Museum of Americana, The Lake, Short Fast and Deadly and
Midwestern Gothic. A more complete listing of Dale’s work can be seen on his
website at http://dalepattersonart.com/