November 2021
In the Blink of an Eye, Gone!
By Suzanne S. Austin-Hill
We, the fish, would like a word. 1
We, the fish, ask you to knock it off. 1
liquid fertilizer release
toxic bloom torments the region
abnormal in size, strength, and severity
like a plague
Waters suffer a heart attack
massive fish kills
a first – animals, dead, on dry land
a stench hovers
human health compromised
Booming truths fall on deaf ears 2
Our Mother cannot fight back her tears
Florida get your act together
Stop arguing; work together
Problem solve; help us
The Mission: Waters everywhere
Swimmable. Fishable. Loveable. 3
Notes
1 https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2021/07/16/we-the-fish-of-st-petersburgs-red-tide-ask-you-to-knock-it-off/
2 https://link.biblegateway.com/view/5ef509c547a9ee30313dc81aetrfp.6to/3a46576e
3 https://lakecane.com
Sailboats Off Lake Ontario
By Ceme Curley
Read MoreGreat Blue Heron Preening
By Jennifer Middlebrook
This beauty was preening on a very gray day! I love how it came out!
Read MoreAnhinga
By Jennifer Middlebrook
This was a dreary day and I was able to get behind this beauty and photograph him preening!
Read MoreFrogman Nighttime 5k OPs
By Laura Cole
Frogman Nighttime 5k Ops
If you swim, you could be tops
Should you regard the feat amiss
The deepest dark liquid abyss
Water’s surface shimmering sheet
Know you not what lies beneath
But if you dare to take the challenge
‘Twixt faith and fear hold in the balance
When you emerge, what will you be?
Transformed into a frog maybe?
Some wretched form human or beast?
Or Salamander, the very least?
Come and swim it does entreat thee
But you fear, “It just may beat me!”
One thing is true, somehow you know…
This night, subdue your greatest foe!
Structure and Nature
Lake Cane Sunset
I love sloppy swimmers
By Michael Zahn
I love sloppy swimmers,
the swimmers who wobble,
the bathers who bobble,
whose strokes are not smooth.
Undaunted by taunting,
some slap the water,
can’t kick like a clock,
some could lose weight,
some can’t swim straight,
some are just dreaming
of post-swim cake.
These are my people!
Imperfect bodies,
imperfect souls,
accepting the fact
they’ll never win gold.
But still they show up,
wobbles, bobbles and all,
compelled to respond
to the water’s call.
Idaho Blues
Glennie Halloween
By Gary Girolimon
Pumpkins glow with flickering light,
Open water turns as cold as fright.
A behemoth glides beneath the lake,
In bright moonlight you’ll see its wake;
When Glennie swims on Halloween night.