With Ancient Ease And Mystery Poem by M.J. McGuire

I know a row of mangroves,
That shade a blue lagoon...
-That shelter the secret stillness
Of the soft Atlantic sea.

I cast for inland Snook,
Cuda, Jack & Ladyfish,
Or any other fishes fickle
Enough to swim near me.

I spot a crooked mangrove stump,
Beneath the flowing estuary tide,
I cast a silver spoon or plastic shrimp...
I keep (in pocket) just above the thigh.

The habits of the fisherman are strange,
Strange like the twisting of the tree,
Which meanders through my aging legs
With ancient ease and mystery.

(1999)