While Fishing Alone
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- While Fishing Alone
, granddaddy diedat the bottom of a lakein a forest that knew himby his first name;been there since he was cutfrom the belly of a black doe.Black child screaming his existenceto the trees, the hills, the sky–I live!The spirit that borrowed his bodywas free to leave whenever it wantedand did;the exits made his fleshsnap to his bones,turned his tongue backinto the eel it once was.His body didn't make a soundwhen it hit the still water.The fish were expecting him,carried himto the ever-soaked muckto merge into the blood of the valley. [End Page 28]
Elijah Bean
ELIJAH BEAN is a poet and storyteller from Huntsville, Alabama. He teaches creative writing and public speaking workshops at various artists communities and universities in the South.
