Produced by Maine Poetry Central and Dennis Camire
This week’s poem is by Carl Little of Somesville. He is the author of “Ocean Drinker: New and Selected Poems,” published by Deerbrook Editions.
Pickerel Weed
By Carl Little
I know these, too, from the pond
I skirted as a child, the green
cake knives clustered along the shore
doubling in shallows
where I cast the hula popper hoping
the weed’s namesake might snatch
and tug line into nearby lily pads.
Oh, lovely slime of thrashing fish!
And now I find them again — the weeds —
in a corner of Somes Pond, spiking the air
while water bugs scurry among stems.
They hold the pose through summer,
a few blue blossoms adding to the thrill,
part of an overall green that we greet
with affection after a long winter.
Elsewhere, water lilies, more prominent
in the landscape, haven’t a clue
about the subtleties of beauty.
Weed, yes, but such an exceptional one
cutting the air this way and that
in a light breeze that animates us all.
Dennis Camire can be reached at denniscamire@hotmail.com
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