This poem was published in The Avenue Journal, Issue X: Dogs
The Trout, The Fisherman, The Dog
by Shutta Crum
Muscles propel through patches of warm light.
Navigating into the cool dark—it hangs weightless.
There’s the easy release of water past gills,
the buoyancy of being.
There’s also a fisherman. He wades, casts,
does a quick mend of his line
lying on the surface of the river
—and there’s the lure.
Today, he brought an old dog with him.
It’s curled up on a gravel bar
in the bend of the river.
The dog doesn’t know it yet,
but its heart will quicken
when the smell of fear rises—
shiny and writhing from the river.
Shutta Crum is a Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation honoree poet (2024). Her poems have appeared in many journals in several countries including West Trade, Acumen, Calyx, Palette Poetry, MER, Grain, Acumen, The Avenue, and Boulevard. A Pushcart nominee, she is the recipient of nine Royal Palm Literary Awards (FL). Her chapbook When You Get Here won a gold RPLA. Her latest chapbook is Meet Me Out There (Kelsay Books). She publishes the monthly newsletter: The Wordsmith’s Playground. www.shutta.com
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