Tuesday 30 October 2018

The Haul


A Surprise Catch

He thought it was the devil himself.

The drag on their nets caught their breaths
Seconds of sand sifting in their heads
Possibilities surfacing, ebbing, drowning.

They exchanged explanations, mumblings-

Each doubtful of the other’s and their own.
A piece of dead tree they concurred
And turned their shoulders to the task.

But the drag widened and lightened

And the tree theory baulked
And like bat wings extended four metres wide
Black tipped volcanoes puncturing the calm.

He staggered back thinking of devil’s horns,

But his mate, recalling jaw bones recovered
four years earlier, moved closer...
It took the strength of both of them

To lift the giant elk antlers from the lough floor.


Copyright with Cathy Leonard 2018

/www.thejournal.ie/tyrone-fisherman-finds-skull-and-antlers-of-great-irish-elk-4222351-Sep2018/

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