Solitude

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."

-Henry David Thoreau

The quiet lake settles down and is a mirror

The small fish swims into my hand without

the lure of bait.

I am not looking to catch a fish, but here it is small and caught anyway.

The solitude is enough. The gentle slapping of water on shore and the diamond water beckons for a final swim of the day.

I skip the tentative toe testing and dive in. Velvet blackness is warm and cool at once.

I let the fish go and he swam happily away. My back to the lake, sun setting, dripping water, shivering. Crunching rocks break the silence.