Feature

Old Man Nantucket said fish the feature
the natural dune break
the long riptide escape
the sudden shelf dropoff
causing an upwelling
and an explosion of life

The ponds had prickly reeds, cute cattails
perhaps a snapping creature
a turtle that might outgrow its shell
unlike a hermit crab 
it would drag your line down 
after a walk to Maxcy Pond 
no need for the permit

Grab the net if it’s shallow
the warm water is a teacher
in how to kickboard paddle or follow
your brother and hear him repeatedly say
look at all those minnows
then a dashing swoop for the shimmer 

Pier fishing on the cloudy days
to see if you know the power of squid
to catch a sea robin 
that is somehow uglier
than muddy the skipper
dropping lines passing time
answering the age old question
did you catch anything?

Paddle out to Coatue
but watch out for nests
a confronting feature while
you’re trying your best to catch a baby blue
that you could pull from the surface
but instead you just watch
the exasperating glimmer

Those impossibly long August days
and short September mornings 
both had curt forewarnings
of Hurricane Bob long game solitaire
when the light was dimmer
or the return of schooling
of false albacore or whirlpooling
of true perfect storms
I would later see in Dreamland

The oil slick smelly feature
Budweiser, bluefish, and eggs
my fish allergy was sure a harsh teacher
but when my wife wielded a bluefish
my pride was wider than the tide chart long
her smile was slightly narrow
but slyly asking for my love

Pulling a bass out in June
stripes so ripe they could bloom
we remembered our father
a fisher of men, lines in the water
barely thirsting for more tackle
casting poles not nets
placing bets on keepers
none too long if overfishing
is the feature
none too short if the goal is 
memories for the ride back 
in the Jeep

The fly rod is yet patiently waiting
calling me to calm down
and fish the feature
a patient teacher 
is within all of us
even those who 
comb beaches
for tomes of 
seashells and
tone poems
called home