The Atlantic | February 2002 | Crayfish Hunting

Contents | February 2002

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More on poetry from The Atlantic Monthly.

The Atlantic Monthly | February 2002

Crayfish Hunting

by Jonathan Musgrove

.....

Hear Jonathan Musgrove read this poem (in RealAudio)

Some small, tucked thing darts
from under a turned stone
before the water can clear
the mud cloud I created
by disturbing that wet dust.

I am too big, hunched over
like an unbalanced heron,
my eyes unfocused to spot
movement, nothing defined
by edges: a contrary streak,

quicker than the current.
How unnatural I must seem,
in rubber boots and a wool coat,
to the wading birds, patiently
waiting for their turn in this stream.

Still, I must have some role
in the autumn afternoon,
my arms wet to the elbows,
reaching into this cold water
that has given birth to everything.

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