Greg Beatty

FISHING FROM A WHEELCHAIR

Fishing from a wheelchair
starts like I am just lazy:
seated, a beer against the wheel,
snapping the rod sky
ward with the great wings
of my back alone, its fly
flies out across the waters,
and in the arc, the splash,
the waiting, I am as others,
as I was before-the
bite changes everything.
The rod bows, my brakes
slip, I wonder: will I land
the trout or will he water me?
Longneck turned and foaming,
toes flippered blindly into hooks-
a bit to pay for later-I
haul my brother ashore to die
out in my chair's bucket. I know:
I am his crash.

Greg Beatty lives with his wife and dog in Bellingham, Washington, where he tries, unsuccessfully to stay dry. He writes everything from children's books to essays about his cooking debacles. For more information on Greg's writing, visit http://www.greg-beatty.com.