March 31, 2016
Max’s Musings
By Max Molleston
For those of us who live in the 50+ age range, April may bring some of us lots of energy. If you and yours wintered in warmer latitudes and are “ home again” and looking to enrich landscapes and other areas of the home, that is precisely what Homes Shows are powered to bring. The rest of us who stood with the antagonists: winds, cold and snow, dream of some form of escape. As daytime temps again conform to our ideas of warmth, and sunshine and south winds help, why not get ready for a fishing expedition, with poles, lines, lures , bait and hooks. More often than not, it is a local river, where ice is out and fish more active, if you know where to go. My escape experience was in a hospital waiting room. I usually grab an issue of Field and Stream and did this past February in Iowa City. Experiences of outdoor writers, in this case T. Edward Nickens, are most interesting. This Summer issue exploded with fishing stories. Writers who deal in natural settings and subjects like Nickens does in issues of Field and Stream, are keen enough and skilled at their craft to lure readers. I was pulled into his quest for a great place to camp and to fish. Keep in mind this poem is crafted from Nicken’s words. I uncovered the poetic bent of his situation and moved his series of thoughts on fishing hole needs into seventeen lines. I did title this effort:
Think Fish
I want a hole in the tree canopy
so I can see the stars.
I want the morning sun
to blast the tent
because I need all the help I can get
to force me
out of a warm sleeping bag
and into the cold waders.
I cannot abide generators,
or radios, or satellite anything.
Infant children, yowling in the night,
however, bring back great memories.
I’ll need access to a separate cooking area
because I am going to eat fish,
for lunch, dinner, and most likely breakfast.
These are just my needs, of course,
and you are entitled to yours.
This delightful article, built with appealing tastes of humor and heaped with outdoor understanding , was considerably longer than this poem, and presented many more demands as seen by the writer. The poetry exercise you have engaged is along the lines of one a few months ago, as The Gazette writer Orlan Love explored landscapes bursting to bountiful greenery, the fullness of the greenery and timely flower displays aided by ample rainfall. Nearly all professional writers are capable of exploring all forms. Some do, some don’t. The most ambitious poets find energy and/or necessity to challenge themselves by delving into other languages, bringing those poets work to us via translations. Some of this world’s finest poetry comes from the head, heart and pen of languages we do not speak or read. The snow and ice, blustery cold winds which entered our lives after Mother Nature “piped in” those mild initial weeks wants most of us to visit and select and pay up for the potential of brilliant floral displays and to make arrangements for shrubs and special trees to fulfill our lives.
Join me here, next month, to read what I can bring to you.
Filed Under: Humor
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